The Perfect Tree

Amber and I have a thing about trees. We love 'em! We love 'em when they're green and full of life. We love 'em when they're bare and vulnerable in the dead of winter. We love 'em in all their glory of their fall colors. And we love 'em when they're just starting to come to life after their winter snooze.

We love scraggly bare-limbed trees with an odd shape. We love the big, full round tree that exudes a robust and healthy life. We love the tall majestic pine pointing towards the heavens. We love 'em all. They're all different. And they're all perfect just as they are.

Kind of like people. Sometimes we're full of life. Sometimes we're bare and vulnerable. Sometimes we're just full of glory and sometimes we feel like we're just coming back to life after going through a hard time. We're all different but we're all perfect just the way we are. No matter our shape, size or season of life.

My Aunt Patty used to say a certain tree in the curve near Johnstown Road was the perfect tree. It was one of those beautiful, full, round green trees....not sure what kind it was. It was the perfect tree shape. It's not there any more. For some reason someone felt the need to cut it down. I think of that tree and Aunt Patty every time I travel that way. Just like that tree Aunt Patty was beautiful and full of life. And just like that tree, she was cut down way too soon. I was a teenager when she passed away. But I do remember her and her love for that perfect tree. And I wonder if that's where Amber and I get it???