Power and the Tree Heart
On Monday afternoon, a line of severe thunderstorms came through our part of Chittenden County with heavy rain, lots of thunder and lightning, and strong winds. Around 1, Dan got an email notifying him that our power was out. It was originally supposed to be back on by 4, but that eventually got pushed back until 7:30, when it came back. When Dan told Jakob about it at pick up, he broke down sobbing. Our sensitive little guy!
When Everleigh and I arrived home separately, we found Dan's Jeep parked mid-way up our driveway, Dan in work clothes prepping the chainsaw, and Jakob climbing over and around tree limbs. A large chunk of a pine tree (probably over a foot in diameter in some spots) had fallen and blocked the driveway. I climbed over with Everleigh as Jakob picked up a socket wrench, held it up to the fallen tree, and crouched down to put his head near it. Naturally I had to ask what he was doing, and he told me that he was "checking the tree's heart." Until he fell asleep, he was talking about how he was so sad that the tree fell and how he wanted to go back and check its heart. Eventually I came up with the idea to tell him that the tree was very old, and it was its turn to fall so that there will be space for a baby tree to grow. The idea of a baby tree seemed to lessen some of the sadness and anxiety he was feeling. The whole thing was so sweet! (Except for the part where we had no power for 6 hours, our chainsaw broke, Dan and our neighbor were out there in the heat and pine sap until 9:00 p.m. that night, and Dan has been cleaning up the yard after work every day since then...none of that has been pleasant.)
When Everleigh and I arrived home separately, we found Dan's Jeep parked mid-way up our driveway, Dan in work clothes prepping the chainsaw, and Jakob climbing over and around tree limbs. A large chunk of a pine tree (probably over a foot in diameter in some spots) had fallen and blocked the driveway. I climbed over with Everleigh as Jakob picked up a socket wrench, held it up to the fallen tree, and crouched down to put his head near it. Naturally I had to ask what he was doing, and he told me that he was "checking the tree's heart." Until he fell asleep, he was talking about how he was so sad that the tree fell and how he wanted to go back and check its heart. Eventually I came up with the idea to tell him that the tree was very old, and it was its turn to fall so that there will be space for a baby tree to grow. The idea of a baby tree seemed to lessen some of the sadness and anxiety he was feeling. The whole thing was so sweet! (Except for the part where we had no power for 6 hours, our chainsaw broke, Dan and our neighbor were out there in the heat and pine sap until 9:00 p.m. that night, and Dan has been cleaning up the yard after work every day since then...none of that has been pleasant.)
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