patience

the thousand year oak, age 4

springing forth

husband is incredibly patient. it's one of the many reasons that he's a keeper. this boy has absolutely stunning patience. he can toss a ball and swing a jumprope for hours. he can direct large groups of small children through intricate treasure hunt after intricate treasure hunt, patiently gathering up the stragglers and making sure they have fun too. i love to watch it, even while i know it's utterly impossible for me.

but the best example of his patience is a little teeny tiny oak tree in front of our house. it's about half a meter tall now. he calls it the thousand year oak. and he doesn't mind that he won't be here in 1000 years to see it (at least not as who he is this time around). we found it in the woods a couple of years ago when it was about 20cm (8-ish inches) tall. it still had the remnants of the acorn attached to its fledgling roots, but he carefully brought it home and planted it (in kind of a dumb spot) in front of the house, next to the driveway. and he thinks it will be a magnificent tree that will still stand there in 1000 years, but it's just beginning its 4th year now.

we make fun of him for it, but i kind of hope he's right.