Healing Trees

When the truck bearing eight gorgeous Leyland cypress trees pulled up in front of the house this morning, I could feel the sorrowful weight of the last several years starting to lift. We've waited two years to replace the trees cut down by empowered and shortsighted neighbors. That we waited this long is a complex tale and one probably not important to today's post. This is one happy day around here as we welcome these young, vibrant trees to their new, and hopefully long lived home on the south side of our backyard.

These men were professional, hardworking, and knew their stuff. They worked for three plus hours, digging and planting, watering, and cleaning up. No sounds of chain saws ravaging the land; only the sweet sound of earth against shovel, dirt moving into spaces around roots, and water from a hose nourishing the ground beneath. Love returns and the healing begins.

We'll toast the trees this evening when the sun casts long shadows across the backyard. And each new day, as the trees push up and out, I'll know we waited for a reason. Time's passage is part of healing. But now, the sight of these trees will bring me joy, everyday.