There is a Greek proverb that says “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”
The weekend before Thanksgiving my family was able to gather on our family’s land to celebrate early. It was just my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and my adorable 21-month old nephew. COVID has been a real concern with our family, as my dad is in a high-risk group, so we have kept our “bubble” very small. This gathering was carefully planned with quarantining and other precautions to reduce potential contact with the virus.
Our way of celebrating was nothing fancy. We spent the day together walking the dogs, flying kites (a first for my nephew), cooking, and simply enjoying each other’s company – something that we no longer take for granted. And, as usual, when my sister’s family and I are home, my dad had a project for us. This time he had a new tree that he wanted planted. I should note that my family’s land is in the Limestone Cut Plains of the Cross Timbers Region, so in addition to digging (and more digging!), this meant we would have to break up a lot of rock to make a hole big enough for the root ball. It was a lot of back-breaking work, but it was a beautiful day to be outside, and we did it together.