The Tree of Life

What was it that I was saying about how things can change on a dime? On Thursday, May 23, nothing changed except that my husband was almost killed by a falling oak tree. At least he could have been killed if he hadn't decided to run into the house just when he did. He had been waiting out the last of the rain in a raging storm that swept through our area. Like I said, "nothing" changed except our realization of how precious life is and how quickly it might have been gone. Yes, our houses were slightly damage, yes, Bruce's car was totaled, but that is nothing compared with what might have been. Now we're just sitting here, feeling grateful. The next day a horde of trucks and zealous workers descended on our property and whisked away the offending tree. Now all that's left is the stump with the asphalt it lifted up hanging from the roots and about 12 feet of what was once a beautiful oak tree. Oh yes, a Bruce's beloved Toyota Camry, squashed, sitting there as a reminder that things can change on a dime . . . or less. Tomorrow it will be towed away out of our sight, but we'll remember what that day might have brought.