why the tree?

"...as the trunk of a tree must be strong, we must maintain
our strength through our core..."

The original analogy of a tree first occurred to me as my daughter had her first encounter with sleep-away camp. After begging her father and me to enroll her, she was just as quick to beg us to let her come home. As I explained to her camp counselor, some children are more pliable than others. Just as some plants need more coaxing than others, each child requires our careful observation and nurturing. Eventually they will shape their own lives.

As mothers, this is even more important. Life shares with us its many twists and turns. Sometimes life suggests our paths, other times, it dictates. In order to weather the storm, as parents, we need roots. As saplings, those roots are invaluable. As life progresses, we grow stronger, like the trunk of a tree, we become formidable. And, most importantly, in order to bear fruit, we must be strong at our core. So, as the trunk of a tree must be strong, we must maintain our strength through our core, and still remain flexible to flow with the wind and not against it.

This is my wish for everyone who, as a mother, faces adversity: be strong at your core--if you don't have roots from your family of origin, be sure you develop them through the best of means before you try to to grow a family. Without strong roots, a tree will blow over when there is a strong wind. When a tree loses its leaves in winter, inherently it relies on its inner strength to grow its most beautiful blossoms when spring arrives again.