ManicMammy’s Blog

I want a Treehouse

August 1st, 2007

The most recent nag offensive from Oscar, the 8 year old, has been for a treehouse. As we’ve no mature trees in the garden having gotten rid of the ‘orrible poplars, I started having a look at the various options.

Then I discovered this:

Wow,  I want one.  Treehouse complexes have obviously come a long way in the past few years. There are a plenty of combinations to choose from. Coolo.

We moved houses a number of times when I was growing up, my father worked in local government and so as his career progressed we lived in Longford, Louth, Wicklow and Cavan.

My earliest recollection of a treehouse was in Dundalk. It must have been the summer of 1978 or so, as we had moved to Wicklow by 1979. We, that is, me(9), my sister Paula(7), brother Kieran(5) and our neighbours the Tascis (Olga, Patrick and Philippe) who were slightly older than us, discovered someone’s abandoned effort at making a fort in a tree in the fields behind our house. It was a great tree for the purpose of this. Its reconstruction seemed to take all our efforts for the rest of the summer holidays. I remember scabbing nails and wood off construction workers in the nearby factory and Mam bringing us our lunch. I don’t think we achieved much more than hammering planks of wood into the trunk to improve the steps up the tree but I remember it being brilliant fun, planning our lookout posts, waiting for invisible enemies to arrive, having our defence ready.

In Wicklow, various trees in the back garden were in turn adapted and basic efforts were made to create huts and look out posts. None ever lasted that long, nor were that successful but that didn’t matter.

So I guess I can see where Oscar’s coming from. Now to make the fortune to afford it…..

Entry Filed under: personal