12/11/09

Friday Driveby



I may have shown you this home before.  This is the home I grew up in.  My parents still live there.  They've been there since 1970.  Having a family home to come back to is wonderful.  All of my siblings and I have wonderful memories growing up in this house.  Whenever I walk through the door, it still feels like home. 

The photo above was taken this past summer.

Yesterday when I visited my parents, this is what I saw as I drove up:



Our beloved Evergreen tree had fallen down the night before in the wild windstorms that hit the Midwest. 

I wish I could put my hand on a current photo of the this tree, but let's just say it was quite tall.  Taller than the 150 year old home that stands next to it.  Here's the best I could do to show you the tree and house together:



Big deal right? It's just a tree, right?

Oh no, it's just so much more. If you will indulge me just a few moments I'd like to walk down Memory Lane for the sake of my my family and I.

This tree was as much a part of our home as the house itself. We played under this tree. We climbed this tree. This tree was a backdrop for many photos taken over the past 40 years. The evergreen stood ever present next to our home. The two of them standing strong, side-by-side, the house and the tree.

Here are my brother and I playing under the tree in 1973.


My husband and I posing for our Prom photo in front of the tree back in 1987:



My son playing in my parent's yard in 1999. 


The tree really was a backdrop of our life. We never really took photos of the tree itself, but it was always there. Ever present.  It's so sad that the tree is the star of the photos now that it has met its demise.

I can't wait for the coming days when hopefully everyone will pull out their photos and share with each other.

Here is the neighbor's house.  Yikes!  There's not too much damage, but thank goodness for insurance!







Here is Mom checking things out:



See those trees back there?  They make me nervous.  Anyone of those trees would take out the garage, and quite possibly part of the house. 

With old homes come old trees, I suppose....



...and then they came to take it away...



....and grind it up.



The Evergreen will be missed.  The home will look forlorn without it, but the memories will always be there.

The Tree
The calm quiet strength of a tree
Anchored deep in the earth
Reaching high in the sky
The calm quiet strength of a tree

The calm quiet strength of a tree
Full of life from its roots
To the tiniest branch
The calm quiet strength of a tree

And oh, how it comforts me
How it teaches me
Without a sound
Then I realize at once
That this tree and I are one
in eternity

The calm quiet strength of a tree
From the weight of its trunk
To its delicate leaves
The calm quiet strength of a tree

The calm quiet strength of a tree
Showing anyone near
All the secrets of time
The calm quiet strength of a tree

Copyright 1994 Tom Splitt


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6 comments:

  1. How sad
    Very cute pix of you & bro under that tree
    Glad no one was hurt

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  2. It's sad when we lose a piece of our history....but you do have lots of lovely memories! ox

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  3. First of all thank God no-one was hurt but most importantly I was so sad for you and your family when I read this post. When I saw those photos and read the verse I must admit I got a little teary. I hope that when the weather is nicer you might be able to plant a new tree to make some new memories.
    Best wishes, Natasha.

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  4. What a sad day for you. Funny how something like a tree can bring back a flood of memories and only then do you see how much it is weaved into your soul. So sorry for you. Glad you have your pictures to preserve your sweet memories.

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  5. I must have missed this with my migraine the other day. I came to grab your cookie link and saw it. It is sad. We have only lived here 6 1/2 years. We had a very small and beautiful Blue Spruce in the corner of our backyard that had grown so much and we loved it. I was always taking pictures of it. This spring we had so much rain that it killed our tree. We haven't taken it down yet. The hummingbirds loved it this summer, and now we are going to put suet balls on it for the winter birds. It is a brown stick tree now, and we still can't stand to cut it down.

    Sue

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  6. I feel the same way about a now HUGE maple tree in my Mother's yard. The house was my Grandparents before it was my Mothers. I have photos of me by this tree when it was shorter than the house. Now it towers over the home by many feet.

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