Goodbye little kid!

I put this mega tire swing up in this tree after I got divorced when I moved into this house. Best tree in the yard. Nothing but the best for my little kid!

I used to push him so hard he would swing way way up to the tops of the evergreen trees. Sometimes there would be one of his friends on it also, scared out of his mind. Not easy to push such a big tire so high- tiring (pun intended)!

Today I realized that he isn’t a little kid any more and I’ll never see him walk or run over to that tire and call me over to push him on it. I actually do not remember the last time it was used :(

I carelessly climbed that ladder with tears in my eyes and a serrated kitchen knife in my hand to free the tire from the tree and the tree from the tire. Some parents are better at turning pages than I am. I went to bed to write this and was sad as I chose my words. Must be daylight savings time-type lack of sun sadness.

Now when I look at that tree I will see Quercus rubra in all its stately glory, yet I will always feel that something is missing, kinda like the boy in puff the magic dragon.

That little kid is grown up, and that tree has gone back to being just a nice tree.