Word Count:\u00a0 378<\/p>\n

I wanted to grow up to be a ballerina. Bobby next door wanted to grow up to be an oak tree. I never reached my goal but Bobby did.<\/p>\n

My mother enrolled me in dance class and winced through every recital. Bobby simply refused to come back inside one warm summer night, planted his bare feet in the ground, held his arms up in stout branches and grew.<\/p>\n

I admired his commitment. His willingness to adapt. Drinking his milk through his toes. Sleeping through the harsh New England winters to come back taller and stronger each spring.<\/p>\n

We still played together, like catch and jump rope. Tag and hide-and-go-seek were impossible. I\u2019d tell him everything I learned at school each day. \u201cDon\u2019t you miss it?\u201d I asked. He shook his head no<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Bobby was a good listener. I told him about each boy that I had a crush on. Each one that eventually broke my heart. I\u2019d sit in his shade and cry and cry\u00a0 and he\u2019d stand and listen. Then he\u2019d say something silly to make me laugh. Carol, look, I\u2019m a weeping willow!<\/em> he\u2019d whisper through the wind. His branches would droop leaves that waved like tiny flags. He was a good friend.<\/p>\n

I went off to college. I\u2019d come home for breaks and slip out to see him. I\u2019d talk about literature and philosophy. I wasn\u2019t even sure he could hear me, he was so tall. Where are the ears on a tree? Eventually I got married. Then my folks died, and I came back to clean out the house. And say goodbye to Bobby forever.<\/p>\n

The weather understood the emotion of that finality of moment. Storm clouds moved in on the empty stage of my childhood. Memories misted in soft curtains of rain. I suddenly wanted to dance for him. It was the only thing I felt I could give back for all the years that he’d listened. Been my friend. So I danced for him, the best I could do. The lightning was my spotlight. The thunder my music. And Bobby applauded, his leaves an audience of clapping hands.<\/p>\n

I bowed and looked up as he swayed in the strengthening wind. Ran for my life as he toppled and fell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Word Count:\u00a0 378 I wanted to grow up to be a ballerina. Bobby next door wanted to grow up to be an oak tree. I never reached my goal but Bobby did. My mother enrolled me in dance class and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,15],"tags":[25,24],"class_list":["post-1396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-100-days-2012","category-horror","tag-100-days-2012","tag-horror"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/susangibb.net\/blog3\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/susangibb.net\/blog3\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/susangibb.net\/blog3\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/susangibb.net\/blog3\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/susangibb.net\/blog3\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1396"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/susangibb.net\/blog3\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1397,"href":"https:\/\/susangibb.net\/blog3\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1396\/revisions\/1397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/susangibb.net\/blog3\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/susangibb.net\/blog3\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/susangibb.net\/blog3\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}