Goodbye Tree.

It's strange to me that I have been sitting here trying to write about what I saw this afternoon and I can't find the right words.

A tree fell. Right in front of me.

The wind raged all last night, most likely pulverizing all the foliage the entire time. The morning was just as unforgiving and I witnessed the wind's true spirit.

Gosh, it sounds weird but it was one of the most powerful things I have ever witnessed. Like setting me straight- realigning myself.

The morning was as it usually is. Cranky kid, happy kid, cranky mom, happy mom... hyper kid, tired mom, hyper mom, tired kid...

I packed all our goodies for the day of work. Then when I had carried the wagon to the bottom of the stairs I realized juice had spilled all over the wagon. Great.

I ran back upstairs, told Trevor to wait a minute, grabbed more juice, grabbed the kid and headed down the stairs.

Almost the exact moment my right foot planted itself firmly on the ground- I heard it. The soul of the wind building up force. I looked right at the tree as if I knew it was going to fall before it knew. I saw the wind pick the tree up and push it, right toward me and Trevor. We were out of harms way but we were definitely still very close.

I heard the crackling of the trunk splitting...and that's it. The world fell absolutely silent.

It was slow motion- literally. The tree's very top point was falling straight toward me and it felt as though the moment the wind pushed the tree down- it felt terrible about it- so the wind helped the tree fall more gently.

I know it may sound odd. Oh well. This is how it happened.

I heard sound again when Trevor wiggled and started crying. It scared him. Not that I blame him. I blinked and came back to the real world. There was a man standing behind me, and he asked if we were OK. I said yes, and he walked away. Another man from the opposite direction came and took a few pictures. I wish I had my camera. It was surreal.

No big deal, right? No property damage, everyone was OK....

No. Big deal. It happened about 2 hours ago, and I can't stop thinking about it. I can't even do justice to how I felt it. How it happened. Like I witnessed Mother Nature Herself, taking her frustrations out on the tree.

Really, I can't even imagine what I would be thinking about if that didn't happen. I would probably be sitting on the computer playing Insaniquarium or watching The Office on Netflix.

Yet- it DID happen. So here I am. Talking about Mother Nature and her frustrations. Taking it to heart. Realizing that when I take my angst and anger out on others- it doesn't affect just them. It hurts many. This experience has been more of a soul snap then a tree falling. More of an "I'm thankful for my open mind" rather than "I'm glad it didn't fall on the apartment."

If I hadn't gone back upstairs after the juice spilled, I would have missed the whole thing.

I hope at least one of you out there understands how something so "common" can really be a blessing. Something that at first glance would be unfortunate for the tree, but fortunate for property owners- really had a significant impact.

Thank you wind, thank you tree. May you never go underestimated again... at least in my world.


Oh, and when a tree falls in the woods and no one is around- it does not make a sound. Trees fall in silence.