Monday, July 12, 2010

In Memoriam



I lost a good friend today. Not a two-legged or even a four-legged friend. This friend, a tall, sturdy blue spruce, had lent its quiet, comforting presence for as long as I've lived here. It greeted me as I came up the drive, provided a shady oasis on hot days. When summer comes, I move into the guest room because it's cooler. The tree was the last thing I would see before I went to sleep, standing like the mast of a ship against the stars. In the morning, it became Central Park for the birds.

Today, it was cut down to allow access to my septic tank, which it grew on top of. Yes, life is full of irony. It's still a shock to see the landscape without it, to look out the bedroom window and not find it standing guard. Of course, it's that way whenever we lose a loved one. The landscape changes. There's a hole where the loved one should be. And eventually, the scar in the ground is healed. But there's always a place in the heart that holds the memory.

6 comments:

  1. It was a beautiful tree and a good friend to you and to the birds and animals who found refuge there. Yes, there is always a place in the heart to keep the memory of a loved one.

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  2. Thanks, all. It made me feel better to write about it.
    What's even sadder is how much a new septic tank and field lines cost.

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  3. So that's where the septic tank is! That's terrible. I will miss the tree when I visit your house.

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  4. Yes, the contractor drew a map showing how many paces from the house to the openings in the septic tank. Sort of like a treasure map. Sort of.

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  5. My sympathies. But oh, your septic tank comment struck a nerve. Did you have to redo the tank and lines to the leach field? There too, my sympathies.

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