I Don’t Live Here Anymore

“I need a chance to be reborn”

The Story

We recently had the pine tree in front of the house chopped down.  It had some sort of incurable tree disease.  We’d tried to save it over the years with treatments, but those didn’t seem to work.  We could continue to let it die and risk it falling on our house, or get it chopped down.

It ended up being a strangely emotional moment.  We bought the house in 2006, before we were married.  We’ve done a lot of living in the time we’ve been here.  That tree was right there with us.  We never had a bond with the tree like the boy in Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree.”  But it was still sad to see it go.

I told the kids that from now on, whenever someone took a picture of our house, we’d know whether it was taken before or after March 31st, 2023.  If the tree was there, it was before that date.  If not… You get the idea.

The Lesson

Indelible change is the kind of change that cannot be undone.  It is change that can’t be unchanged.

This type of change can be jarring, but also cathartic.  It can provide clarity and change the very essence of who we are.

Parenthood is an example of indelible change.  Once you become a parent, you are always a parent.  Your fundamental attributes may be the same, but your life has forever changed.

The War on Drugs — “I Don’t Live Here Anymore”