Six-year-old Grayson Ludlow half remembered something he saw a neighbor of his in foster care doing, every day … the neighbor would come out into the morning sunshine when the sun was just up, and do a number of stretches and moves with bare feet.
The neighbor had noticed little Grayson's interest, and, even from that distance, had modeled for him several things he could do to ground himself in the morning … what Grayson remembered was stretching toward the sky, like a tree, catching the first rays of sun through his hair and his fingers while his feet were bare and squishing in the soft dirt – he curled his toes, counted to 5, and uncurled his toes, thinking that he was growing roots.
Grayson and his younger brother Lil' Robert Ludlow were really cousins, Lil' Robert being the grandson of Capt. R.E. Ludlow Sr. through his son R.E. Ludlow Jr., and Grayson through the captain's daughter Anne. Both Capt. Ludlow's son and daughter had committed suicide with the other parents of these two little boys and the five other grandchildren that the captain and his wife were adopting as siblings – and there had been trips in and out of foster care for all seven children, and they had been through a lot of neglect, trauma and grief.
Seven little children, at last safe enough to heal, sought their healing and growing in a lot of ways. They had experienced a lot of things, going in and out of homes, and although Capt. Ludlow was inclined – because of the true and sometimes almost lethal hatred he had for the foster parents who had not done well by his grandchildren – to think of their experiences as all bad, this was not true. Grayson, for whatever reason, had sleep-walked his way into stumbling through the yard into a grounding exercise he had learned from a neighbor.
So, Capt. Ludlow, who after his West Point training was familiar with the first principles of the Eastern martial arts and physical meditations, just recognized what was happening, and decided to take five-year-old Lil' Robert with him in giving Grayson support that morning.
Grayson fully woke up with Lil' Robert on one side and his grandfather on the other, all stretching up toward the sky, their feet bare, and curling and uncurling to the quiet count that Capt. Ludlow had been providing both boys in a soft voice.
“Good morning, Grayson,” the grandfather purred. “Lil' Robert told me you said it would be nice to see what it was like to be a tree in the morning, so we decided to come check it out.”
“You did, Papa?”
“Yep.”
Grayson's eyes and face lit up with gratitude and love.
“It feels really nice,” Lil' Robert said. “This is a good idea, Grayson, because when you have nightmares, it's sometimes a lot nicer to start as a tree than a person.”
“I know!” Grayson said. “That's why I do this! My neighbor showed me!”
Which, of course confirmed that although Grayson was less vocal than Lil' Robert, he too was going through morning difficulties … but was finding ways to resolve them. Lil' Robert knew his grandfather was always up and about, and Grayson went to the ground.
Capt. Ludlow restrained his surging emotions, however; his thought was to provide emotional strength and security to those two little boys, his youngest grandchildren.
“Well,” he said, gently re-capturing their attention, “suppose a tree thought to itself, 'I will stretch and bend a little in the morning, in case there is a strong wind later. I will get ready now.”
Lil' Robert and Grayson looked at each other.
“Papa knows what is going on with the trees!” Grayson said.
“Well, of course he does,” Lil' Robert said. “I mean, when you get older, you are supposed to get smarter.”
“Yes, that is what you are supposed to do,” Capt. Ludlow said with a smile. “Not everybody is doing it, but, yes, Robert and Grayson, that is the proper plan. So: let's stretch some more and twist a little and bend, in case there is a strong wind through the trees later.”
Sgt. Vincent Trent and his 21-year-old son Melvin watched from next door as Capt. Ludlow led his grandsons through an entire slow-motion exercise routine in the early morning sunshine.
“He handled that really, really well,” Melvin said to his father. “I mean, it's the kind of thing Pop-Pop would do too.”
“Yes, sir, him and his capoeira,” Sgt. Trent said. “Pop-Pop stays in tremendous shape with that, and y'all just loved all that growing up.”
“It's not only the moves but the music, Dad,” Melvin said. “That sort of started me out to where I make my living from making music for living, dancing, feeling good now.”
“Yep. A lot starts just like what we see going on in front of us.”
“Wow. Capt. Ludlow is really flexible, given his age – or really any age.”
“Oh, he keeps himself totally up, and you see why he has to always be ready!”
Lil' Robert and Grayson, when they were good and tired out in slow-motion – for they were, after all, just little civilians compared to the 33-year army veteran, and knew all about running and playing but were new to isometrics and calisthenics – plopped down and then fell out, on their backs, exhausted, but happy.
“We're gonna be the trees with the muscles and stuff!” Grayson said to Lil' Robert.
“Yep!”
“Big, tall, thick trees,” their grandfather purred, “chips off this old block.”
They rolled on up and tackled him, overwhelmed with joy and love.
Later on, during Capt. Ludlow's regular exercise, Lil' Robert doggedly keeping up as usual, Grayson ran out and just tackled his grandfather again.
“Thank you!” he cried, and ran away boo-hooing, something healed in him that was too big to contain, but healed.
Capt. Ludlow paused his routine, and pulled his boo-hooing grandson into his arms.
“Whenever you get up and need to be a tree in the morning, we'll do it together, Grayson.”
“I know! Thank you!”
Lil' Robert came up and hugged his brother from the other side.
“Coffee, and tree life in the morning whenever you get up like me … life here just keeps getting better and better and better, Grayson.”
That was almost enough to have Capt. Ludlow boo-hooing, but he just smiled, and held his two littlest grandchildren, as life got better and better and better.