The Giving Tree

Have you read this book? It is one of my all time favorites! It is one I read often, and shed tears every time I read it. We are living this story right now. When The Farmer and I moved to Mexico ....years ago....The Farmer's father....who, by the way.... was a "real cowboy" had built a small home for us. He was in the process of building it while we were dating and he would always say..."when you are married and move to Mexico, this will be your house." Anyway, to make it a little more "homey" he cut a branch from a Globe Willow tree that stood in his yard, and planted it in our yard. When we moved in the tree was a stick in the ground and not much more. He actually backed over the "stick" a few times, and we wondered if it would ever amount to anything. But, as the years passed the tree grew and so did our little family. By the time The Boy came along the tree had grown, and actually made a little shade for him to play under. The Boy loved to play outside. From the time he could crawl he would find his way outside to play under our tree, and he often left the hose running, which I am sure was a great benefit to the tree. Somehow I think the tree really loved him too, because it grew and grew and became a beautiful tree that was almost like an umbrella on a sunny day.

Next, came PreShie, and she too loved to be outside under the willow and the same with Rooster. They could always be found under the tree digging, playing in the hose, or playing in the playhouse that also found its' home under the tree. We had many, many dinners and parties under this wonderful tree. Above is a picture of the tree last winter during a snow storm.


The tree became the home of a displaced swarm of bees last summer, and that was quite lovely as well. Had the bees not attacked us everytime we came out of the house....we would have let them stay too! The willow was the home for birdhouses built in cubscouts, it held hummingbird feeders and it supported many climbing children. This tree really became a member of our family! This past year we thought we would begin building a new home....but timing has not been right(given all that is going on in Mexico right now). So we decided that we would add onto our existing home to make it a little more comfortable, but that meant our beloved tree must be removed. And so The Boy, who loved the tree and enjoyed the tree throughout his life, was the one who carefully cut the tree down, and stacked the wood, which we will also use when our new fireplace is completed. The Boy was sad, he said it just wasn't right, but it had to be done.


And so, a chapter in our lives has closed....and another has opened. The building will begin on Monday, and we are so excited!

And....another tree has been planted, that will, in a few years become a beautiful willow, just like the one we have loved and enjoyed for so many years.