More than Trees

Sitting here working in the office at home, I can hear the constant buzz of chain saws busily slicing away at the problematic and dying Ash trees in my backyard; casualties of the Emerald Ash Borer.  I will miss the shade they provided on a hot summers day but most assuredly, I will NOT miss the dropping branches, the way the tree shed leaves when we would enter even a short rain drought or the fear that a large branch would fall as I sat on the patio staring at the night sky and I would meet an untimely demise.  

So why am I am suddenly depressed knowing that I am knocking a major task off my maintenance "to do" list?  I realize that I am seeing the last of the silent sentries that witnessed every moment of joy, pain and growth that my kids experienced in our backyard over the past 2+ decades.  The laughing, and screams of joy as well as the cries over dropped ice cream cones and protests over unfair treatment by a friend or sibling - they are all lovely memories for me after so many years.  I am watching friends and family in the form of trees taken away cut by cut and realizing that one more witness to my life will no longer be seen by me every time I look out my back window.  Not to be overly dramatic but I am witnessing the loss of a friend,  one I didn't always like (cleaning up the mess they would drop) but one I came to value even when we were not in agreement and now, I suddenly realize, one that shared a common history with me but sadly, also the ONLY one that witnessed each and every moment of  fun and games and growth my children experienced in their presence.  

Farewell, old friend, I will miss you but will never underestimate the time we spent together.