#ThursdayTreeLove: Revelations from a Hard Decision

January 24, 2019 by JoAnna 35 Comments

I discovered #ThursdayTreeLove when Chandra’s post led me to it. See below for a link to the Thursday Tree Love host.

It was a hard decision I didn’t want to make and still don’t want to think about, but the revelation it brought is important. My husband told me the mimosa next to the house had to come down so they could add the rain gutters. Water damage is what led to the major renovations that have had us living in my parents’ old house since September. We could almost buy a new house with the money we’re spending on repairs. As the overhang on our house is practically non-existent, rain gutters are needed. It’s been so long, at least 25 years, that I don’t remember if that mimosa sprouted there on it’s own or if I transplanted it from a more obviously wrong spot. It took root at least a foot, maybe two, from the corner of the house. Now I know that is too close. It’s a hard lesson.

As you might know, my love for trees is powerful. I have a particular fondness for the misunderstood mimosa. When David and I reconnected in 2011, I didn’t know that he would become my husband, but one of the first things I told him was that I was a tree-hugger. He said he was too. That was good to hear, though I doubted that he could have the depth of tree love that I did.

After David told me the mimosa next to the house had to go, I asked him if we could just trim some of the branches. He said no because the tree really was right next to the house. I knew that. The main trunk had grown to be just a few inches from the house, touching the house when the wind blows hard, and major branches draped over the roof in the summertime. I asked David to take care of it and said that I don’t want to be there. I don’t want to see any remains. It’s too painful for me. We’re staying an hour away, and David commutes almost daily, so he would have plenty of opportunity to do it.

A few days later, David came “home” after working in the yard at our more permanent address. He said he took down the mimosa. He told me he said a prayer for it first. He got choked up talking about it. There were tears in his eyes. David’s feelings for this tree shocked me. I knew he cared, but he does not show emotion easily, though has shown it in grieving for dogs. David is strong and very practical, almost Vulcan-like at times which can be irritating but is more often comforting in it’s steadiness.

I knew David told me he was a “tree-hugger” back when we reconnected, but I didn’t know he could feel this depth of emotion for a tree. I didn’t know it would be hard for him. I didn’t ask him to say a prayer – that was all his idea. I just asked him to take care of it, and he did. I thanked him for caring so much and gave him a big hug. The gift in the sadness is that I have a new appreciation for the depth of my husband’s compassion. A person can have a big heart even if he doesn’t wear it on his sleeve.

David makes things from reclaimed wood, fallen trees, or trees that have to be cut down. He said the wood from the mimosa is a beautiful and pink. He hopes to make many beautiful things from it in his wood shop. I hope some day I can bear to look at them.

More mimosas live my backyard, thankfully not close to the house. I call them prolific rather than invasive, and have given a few away. I’m sure some of them came from the mimosa that took root too close to the house all those years ago.

Mimosa flowers in the back yard

 

Thursday Tree love is a photo feature on Happiness and Food, hosted on 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month. The next edition will be live on February 14, 2019. If you would like to play along, post a picture of a tree on your blog and link it back to the post on happiness and food:  https://www.happinessandfood.com/thursdaytreelove-56/