Thirty years ago, I had a darling baby girl, Maaike. My heart grew very big, because I loved her so much. Later, my heart got bigger because Anneke and then Robby were born.

More and more, I love to travel. Wherever I go, I see people who are a little bit different than me, but also the same. More and more, I feel mother-bearish about children in far away places. It feels as though these children are part of my family, and that now my heart has grown very wide.

In 1997, I was invited to visit schools in Kenya and Uganda. The Serengeti took my breath away. The mara was so thundrous, it felt like it had no end. Sometimes I saw Maasai standing beneath the cool shelter of a Greenheart Tree, sometimes with their cattle and sons. I visited Maasai villages, too, and could see the ways Maasai families are different from my own. But when I watched Papas with their children, I could see the same tenderness and pride and big Papa-smiles I could see on my own Papa's face. And then I could see the parts that were the same.

Why did I write a story that takes place on the Serengeti? Why are the father and son Maasai? Partly because I couldn't get the thundrous mara out of my heart. Partly because the Maasai culture is very interesting. And to show the importance of competence in a young boy's character, what better place than the Serengeti, where drought and stalking animals are part of life? But mostly, I wanted to show how this part of my big family is exactly like us all.

My own Papa loved me to pieces. I knew that. Whenever I did something to make him proud, he'd smile that big Papa-smile and then I felt I'd burst my own buttons with happiness. It made me feel BIG. It made me feel BRAVE. And sometimes, it made me afraid.

Next time, what if I disappointed him? What if I tried, but really messed up? What then? Would he be embarrassed? Would he stop loving me? Would he wish I weren't his little girl?

The way Papas love their children, and the way children worry about it, is the same, I think. Whether it's me or you or a Maasai father and son. And that was the story I wanted to write.

But this part was a puzzlement. I kept thinking about the Greenheart tree. Why? It took me many writings to know the answer. The Serengeti sun is scorching, and to stand beneath the Greenheart tree, with its arm-branches stretched wide, brings cool, green relief. The trunk is sturdy protection. And the heart of the tree is ever green . . . just like the love of a Papa for his son.

Text and Photography © 2005 by Barbara Joosse.
Illustrations © 2005 by Barbara Lavallee.