Fern Forest Fantasy

     I could write a volume about last weekend's Treehouse guests: Mom Jessica, Dad Will, their two children, and puppy Peanut. Will, handsomely Cuban by heritage, is an accountant born in the year of the Dog, which makes him inherently agreeable and likable. Jessica, of French Canadian ancestry, has a sense of wanderlust not held back by family and canine. She and Will acquired Peanut a decade ago when they bought a house in Los Angeles and jokingly told the sellers they'd take the house if they'd throw in the dog. They did, and Peanut has been with them ever since. 
     Jessica owns Cucumber Design Company and does most of her work online so she can travel anywhere she can access wifi. When their daughter came along, they moved to New York City and enrolled her in an international school to learn French. Their son followed a few years later, and they moved to Boston to be closer to Jessica's family in Maine. Their hope is to live in France for a few years and travel around Europe, exposing the children to a world of adventures.
     Instead of giving the kids toys for Christmas, Jessica and Will give them experiences. These are wiser parents than I was, evidenced by boxes upon boxes of Christmas gifts stashed in my attic, discarded after the boys grew up and left home. I hold onto the dim hope that maybe ~ some day ~ there will be toddler grandkids who'll want to play with them. Jessica and Will are less foolish. Last Christmas Santa brought their children a Treehouse. Or, rather, a weekend thirty feet up in the air. I was a little nervous with energetic youngsters ages five and eight climbing up to the loft and perhaps even dangling from the deck, but I needn't have worried. This bright new generation can figure out things for themselves.
     In fact, I'll let them speak for themselves. Take a look at Jessica's blog for a peek at their high Treehouse fantasy:  http://goodiegoodiegumdrop.com.

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