Timber!

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I'm not sure which book I read it in, but the author spoke about how everything that's created will someday come apart.

Everything.

You can build a structure out of the strongest materials, but eventually time and environmental conditions will break it apart.

The only thing that truly stays together is what is inside of you, and although we also, eventually break down and come apart, the essence of what we were is still intact.

And I believe...

...remains intact through eternity.

That sort of came to me at 3:03 a.m. on Christmas morning when the high winds whipped through Western New York.

I didn't really pay much mind to the weather reports because, let's be honest here, after the 85 inches of snow in November, nothing really scares me much.

"They're calling for a foot of snow!"

We shrug our shoulders.

Anywhoha...

The winds were slamming the house pretty good when I settled in for the Christmas Eve fitful sleep. Sam was promising that we'd all be up in a matter of hours so we were all sleeping fast.

CRASH!

That's all it was. One big crash.

"What the hell was that, Melky?" I asked.

Melky didn't audibly respond. She nosed up the shade and looked out and down the street. I looked out too.

Nothing seemed out of whack.

In the morning I stepped out to grab the paper off the front step and I saw the result of the crash.

The large tree in our front yard...the one everyone hated mowing around...the one that dropped little garbage apples all over...

...had come apart.

At one point in time someone had planted that tree, and marveled as it grew.

I have no idea how long it stood there.

The nearly 20 years I've been here...probably double that at least.

And it missed my bedroom by about twenty feet.

CRASH!

Less than 2 days later a guy stood in the yard and further took the tree apart, cutting it up, taking the wood, and raking away the branches.

The yard looks different.

I hated the tree when I mowed.

It was ugly.

No more apples!

But I'm gonna' miss it.

Because I'm a little sad it came apart.

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