Tree Trauma

Twenty years ago , when we moved into our house, I went a little crazy planting ficus trees. I was attracted to their willingness to grow for me- therein my choice.

In my inexperience, I planted them too close to the house and garage- all 9 of them.

They were lush and huge and full of glossy green leaves, towering over the top of our house; they were beautiful. They also provided wonderful shade in the summertime.

However, they were also buckling our concrete sidewalks , threatening our foundation, and dropping millions of leaves ,it seemed on a whim.

They are now all gone. I hired someone to remove them.

The resulting devastation is hard to bear.
Was it necessary? Yes. I certainly can't second guess that now.

Can I , with the help of people who are good at this type of thing, restore what has been lost?
The hopeful answer is yes, of course.

The drama queen in me worries that I have destroyed twenty years of TIME.

The practical side of me is taking deep breaths and planning workdays in the yard .

I pray for comparable 'ficus willingness'- to plant myself and to bloom where planted.