On a recent, beautiful, spring day, my oldest daughter was joyfully eating her Shaq gummy’s, when an idea came across her mind…
“MOM! What if we plant one of these, and we grow a gummy tree!! Like we did with the marshmallows!”
Remembering the Magical Marshmallow Tree in Bayfield
Rewind to last summer. We were staying at this lovely yurt in Bayfield, Wisconsin on a sprawling apple orchard. This part of the country is GORGEOUS, so if you have never been to the “north coast,” highly recommended. You can find the link to your same yurt HERE, which we found on hipcamp.com. The hosts were amazing and we had the best time.
Anyway… sitting by the fire one night, roasting marshmallows, my oldest daughter got the idea to plant one of her marshmallows to see what would happen. Maybe a tree would grow, she thought! Especially if she wishes on her wishing star, it is sure to grow, she told me.
Encouraging Magic Over Reality (At Least for Now)
I didn’t have the heart to tell her, it would not. That is not possible. Just like you don’t tell your kid when they’re 5 that Santa isn’t real, or the tooth fairy, not to mention the Easter bunny and leprechauns, and don’t get me started on how fake fairies are… Ummm…. No. We encourage our children to believe in magic because they will discover soon enough the realities of the world and we want to hold on to their childlike innocence as long as possible.
So… Instead, I let her plant it, marked where it was, and put her to bed. As she was sleeping, I got a branch, put a marshmallow on it, and made it look like it was sprouting from the ground. When she woke up the next morning, she instantly remembered to check on her marshmallow, and to her absolute amazement, it GREW!
She could not get over it. She was awestruck, godsmacked, in sheer excited amazement. Then she picked it up off the ground and took a bite off the clean top. We relished in the awesomeness of our little marshmallow tree that grew overnight, and then she quickly moved on to the next thing that amazed her. Probably some kind of flower or insect. She brought up the tree a few times in retelling the story, but you know kids; they move from one thing to the next and before you know it they’ve forgotten all about what they were talking about in the first place.
Planting Imagination: From Marshmallows to Gummies
Fast forward to this recent, beautiful spring day where she was eating her giant Shaq gummies and the same thought to plant one crossed her mind.
What do you think we did? We planted the crap out of one of those giant gummies, wished on her wishing star, and waited.
When the Gummy Tree Didn’t Grow (Right Away)
Nothing came the following day (it’s very hard when you’re not on vacation and in work/school mode!). There was frost on the ground, so that must be the reason. It was too cold, she concluded. She would check again the next day.
She did, and still, nothing (come on! We had swimming lessons the night before, I didn’t have time to make a tree and get out there in the dark! Not to mention our dog would surely eat it when she went outside before my daughter could find it.)
The day before was much warmer, she commented, and that should have helped it grow. But, there was still frost in the morning, so that’s probably it. Still too cold. So, she went to bed, and sure enough, checked again the next day.
This time, no frost on the ground, but still no gummy tree! She was not giving up, but I could see that she was growing disappointed.
The Surprise: A Gummy Tree Finally Sprouts!
Over my lunch break, I came home, put together a small gummy tree and put the small gummy tree in my glove box. I finished my day at work, rushed home, let the dog out, stuck the gummy tree in the ground, and went to pick up the kids.
We came home and were playing on the playground. She wasn’t even thinking about the gummy tree at this time, until we noticed that the tulips leaves were starting to come up! Maybe, just maybe her gummy tree has sprouted!
She ran to check as I pushed my youngest daughter on the swing. All of a sudden, there’s a scream of shock! IT GREW!!!!!
Wonder, Curiosity, and the Joy of Believing
She was overjoyed, and then flooded with questions like,
“Why did it take longer than the marshmallows?”
“Was it because I wished on the wishing star or the process of how I planted it?”
“How can we keep it safe from ants?”
“I notice ants don’t eat the berries on the mulberry tree, so maybe they don’t eat things that are still alive and growing?”
“Do they only eat the sweet things that fall to the ground?”
I didn’t have answers for her, because I had no idea, so we talked about all of the possibilities. We were awestruck. She was awestruck at the gummy tree and I was awestruck at her awe.
It was truly a magical moment. Then, her and her sister and I ate the gummies from the small tree and went back to the swingset to play. Her little sister ripped the small tree up by the “root” or the Shaq gummy I stuck the stick into, so we’ll have to replant one if we want another one to grow.
Candy Gardens, Childhood Magic, and Lifelong Memories
I’m sure I’ve got myself into a summer filled with planting a candy garden, and you know what, that’s okay with me. If making small candy trees ignites this happiness and wonder and magic and questioning in my child, that’s totally cool.
And we’re making these memories that will last our lifetimes. I have the time, she has the belief, and we both want the awe that grows with it.
You can read more on my journey to rediscovering wonder and awe in my life on my post HERE.
Anyone out there do any of these weird, magical things with their kids? I want to hear all about it! Let’s share the awe <3
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