A Parent's Tough Love

This peaceful tree-lined road no longer exists. I have felt like The Lorax is being played out in my life for the last few weeks. The trees have been uprooted, cut into lengths, and loaded onto trucks. The debris left behind has been bulldozed into piles.

 I spoke to one of the farmers who owns the land. He is sad to destroy the wooded area. He too enjoyed the shady coolness of the tree covered road. He has family stories of the bear that frightened his grandchildren. He hates to see the desolation of the once beautiful wood.

But that farmer also knows that the trees were sick. Some of them have been dead too long to even be sold as lumber. The forest was dying, even though it was still beautiful and useful. The terrible pruning had to be done.

New trees will be planted when the cutting is finished. A new forest will grow in the old one's place. And one day I will again enjoy the quiet beauty of a shady walk.