school projects

When I was in 5th grade, we were assigned to make a model of something in Washington DC. I brought this assignment home and my mom got all excited, "a cherry blossom tree!" she said. "Washington DC is known for its cherry blossom trees. You should make one of those."

So, with her help, we popped popcorn, spray painted it pink out in the garage, hot glued it to a tree branch, and stuck the branch in a coffee can filled with rocks.

When I walked in to my classroom the next day, there were lots and lots of Washington Monuments. There was a clay Lincoln Memorial and one out of play dough. There was a Lego White House and another made out of cardboard and glue. There was a replica of The Mall and the Vietnam Memorial.

But there was only one Cherry Blossom Tree. Because only one girl had a mom as clever as Margaret Harrington.

I know we have a picture of this somewhere. I may have to spend my weekend digging through family photo albums to find it. Until then, I hope you are enjoying the real thing this spring. The tree pictured above is our neighbor's across the street. I think it's a magnolia and everytime I look out the window I think of the popcorn we glued to that tree branch.