Today I almost failed. But then again, today was more about being a friend, helping out someone when they needed it. By 5pm this evening I still hadn’t figured out what I was going to do.  But then again, today I heard a lovely story from that same friend about a tree in Central Park. It’s a tree that is very special to them, it’s where they got engaged, and where they found out whether their first child was a girl or a boy… They asked the doctor to write it down for them, then put it in a sealed envelope and waited until Christmas, and then took it to the tree to open it. They did the same with the second baby. It’s such a wonderful story, and a great way to find out don’t you think?

We too have a special tree. That one is in our backyard in the UK. When my little one was really young it was the best way to calm him down. We’d go to the back of the garden and sit under the tree, looking up at the swaying branches and the sky. It always worked. So much so, that on his first day of nursery school I told the teachers that if he got upset to take him out to the yard and look at trees. And they did.

My friend’s story of her special tree inspired me to make a donation to Million Trees NYC – an organization with an ambition aim to plant and care for one million new trees across the City’s five boroughs over the next 10 years. 70% of these will be in parks, on streets and other public spaces, and the rest will come from private and community organizations, and homeowners.

It was only a small donation, but as the saying goes: ‘From small acorns…’