Plant a tree, and stay out of it.

The boys had just gone outside. My attention was diverted for a moment when the phone rang. It was Rick, checking in. We talked just long enough for both Carl and Pete to climb a tree.

This is allowed -- kind of. Not when I'm the only one home, says I, and the parents tend to agree.

The kids do like to climb, and they do it pretty well. It's a relatively safe thing for one person at a time, I would think. I climbed a lot of trees as a kid. But when you put two up there, in this particular tree -- well, the first person gets all the good, strong branches, and the second person is left with nowhere sturdy to place a foot.

I had enough time to think that thought and say, "Come on down, guys, you're not allowed up there" when Pete's foot slipped and he tumbled out of the tree. He went head over feet over head when, to my horror, I realized there was no way his little body would have enough time to flip once more before hitting the ground. He was feet over head, and that's how he was bound to land.

It was a long fall. Especially when you're watching and there's nothing you can do.

I'm pretty sure Pete's guardian angel was the one who took his legs and shifted them back under his body, allowing him to land on his knees and elbows. I didn't even see that part happen. All I knew was that his head was on a neck-breaking collision course with the earth, and then it wasn't. And that's good enough for me.

I ran barefoot toward the little boy who looked at me with shock in his eyes before he started wailing. I checked him for damages, but there appeared to be nothing serious aside from a few scratches on his face. I held him as he cried, simultaneously coaxing Carl out of the tree.

(As it happened, I heard a little cry, looked up, and saw Carl dangling from the branches, his arms caught up -- about to fall. I had to leave the sobbing boy to lift Carl out of the tree and prevent a second crash landing.)

Pete got over his tears and spoke to Carl in Dutch -- he was marveling about how he flipped through the air before he landed. That was pretty cool, apparently, and Carl agreed. They laughed. Pete went over and kicked the tree.

"Okay, guys, that really scared me. That is why you can't climb trees. No more climbing unless Mama and Papa are home and say it's okay."

In unison. "Why?"