YOU'RE OUTTA HERE!!!

Growing up in our family home was great. I loved everything about it, especially our front yard. My father kept our yard perfectly manicured. I must say it was the prettiest on the street. At one point in time our house was the only one that had beautiful green shrubs. Standing from the street one day my father decided that everyone deserved a beautiful yard so he bought shrubs for each house on our side of the street (there were only 4). After about a year each house was adorned with gorgeous greenery that accented each corner. Although I loved everything about our yard, my favorite was the beautiful tree that stood in the center of our yard. That tree had many memories. We played ring-a-round-the rosie, Hide-n-Seek, Tag (the tree was the safe point), and we even had lunch every now and then beneath our shady friend. I knew when I grew up and bought a home of my own I would have a big beautiful tree right in the front.
      Not only did I purchase a home with trees and shrubs, it had a beautiful oak tree right in the front. It provided shade from the sun during the hot summers and small limbs and leaves for the fireplace during the cold winters. As time went on the tree grew bigger and bigger and started to cause problems. One night during a tornado watch with heavy winds a huge limb broke off and damaged a window. My husband said we needed to cut the limbs back. "No," I said. "If we cut the limbs back I won't be able to have as much shade in the summer and the house will be hot." Reluctantly he agreed and the tree stayed as it was.
     Fall came and the leaves changed colors and fell everywhere. Harsh rains flooded our area for about a week and the roof began to leak because of an accumulation of leaves. Frustrated with the cost of having to repair the roof, my husband again came to me and said that we needed to get rid of that tree before something worse happened. I knew he was right, but something within me just couldn't part with that tree and what it represented. It was a reminder of my childhood, my hometown and the house I grew up in that was no longer there. "Babe, that tree is a part of this house, you can cut the limbs back a bit but I will not cut it down." He disagreed but did as I asked and only cut the limbs back.
     A couple of years had gone by and I still had my tree. Those that visited admired the beautiful tree that stood so proudly in the front of the house. It added "character" to the house is what people would say. Yes everything on the OUTSIDE was perfect, but the tree caused a major problem on the inside of the house. The roots had grown out so much that they got into the septic tank and cause a huge mess with our plumbing. Thousands of dollars had to be paid to correct the problem. The tree that I loved and that had been around for at least 17 years had interrupted the peacefulness of our home and caused turmoil within our family. It had to go!
     Reluctantly we had the tree removed.

Sometimes there are people in our lives that have been there FOREVER. They hold special places in our hearts. Although they do things to disrupt our lives, we tend to keep them around, just because of what we THINK they represent or because they are familiar. We don't realize that they're destructive until its too late. They eat away at our hearts and leave nothing but despair, heartache, and pain.  Just like that tree that I loved so much, those destructive people have to be uprooted and removed from our lives. The separation may be hard to accept but it's necessary in order to live a stress free life. Just because a tree has grown in your yard forever doesn't mean it won't screw up your septic tank. And just because someone has been your friend forever doesn't mean the relationship isn't toxic. Just like that tree...they have to GO.