Jacaranda Tree

Now that I've been unemployed for the last six months, I've had time
to admire my Jacaranda tree in the front yard. It's a tree I bought a
few years ago when it was only about five feet tall. I took my time to
search for the right tree, because I wanted one with a double trunk.
These are not so prevalent out there in the nurseries. I also carefully
selected where the tree would be planted based upon how it will grow
into the spot over the years. Today it stands at least fifteen feet
tall. It can been seen directly from our living room while sitting in a
comfortable chair. Like starring at a fish tank, I can dream endlessly
while looking at the tree swaying in the wind and the movement of the
thousands of little leaves. I think about how it will look during the
winter when all the leaves are gone and then in the early summer with
the brilliant purple flowers. I think about how simple life is for the
tree and yet how stoic, and brave the tree is to withstand the changing
weather. It must not be easy to stand in one place with the harsh
summer sun or to stay in the ground with the windy and rainy
winters.

I loath the idea of going back to a twelve hour work day like I had
been doing for the past twenty years. I'm enjoying not waking up to an
alarm, spending time with my six year old girl, and watching my
Jacaranda tree. I'm done with climbing the corporate ladder. Even
though I only climbed up a few steps, I can see the view gets real
narrow the higher you go up the ladder. I've got a few job
opportunities lined up and will probably be working within a month. It
may just work out great, because starting work in September just seems
like a good month to go back to work.

I also do not wish to drive an hour or more each way to my place of
work. When you add up the hours, even if it's just an hour commute,
that totals up to forty hours a month. This time alone adds up to a
full time work week. Once again, I think about my tree having the
complete other extreme of not even leaving the property. I envy my
tree, because it doesn't have to think about life and it's destiny was
for the most part determined once I planted it in the ground. It would
be nice not to think about life and just live and grow. I'm still going
on job interviews and maybe I'll get asked one of those off-beat
questions, like "If you were a tree, what kind would you be?" Now I
could actually provide a document in response to the question.
Although, this document doesn't sound aggressive enough for the
business world. I'd have to play the interview game and just say
something like "A Jacaranda Tree, because it grows big, strong and
lends a great deal of shade to the team player plants below in the
ground".

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