There is an old tree in my back yard that when we moved here 17 years ago I did not like. It is older than 100 years. I felt it would take away the sun from my plants and its so old; in fall both mine and the neighbor's yards are filled with leaves.
Every year I planted new plants and some fruit trees, praying that they would get enough sun to bloom. Each year new buds would come up and the fruit trees prosper. Each year I raked and help my neighbors rake so; we became friends.
I'm getting ready to sell my home soon and now as I look out at that old tree I know I shall miss it. For after so many years I realize that old tree has taught me a valuable lesson. I shall not judge just by looking at something because; what I perceive may not be the whole story. When I look out now I wish the old tree could talk and tell me all the things it has seen: the children who climbed in it, the people that it has met, the animals that have lived in it, and the way it felt every time a new family moved in.
I'm really going to miss that tree!
Image Source: Wikimedia
