The Living Tree

My dear friend, Carla, and her husband came by the farm to visit yesterday and they brought a very special gift.  They brought a Blue Spruce and a beautiful plaque to plant this Spring in honor of my Dad.  The gift is beautiful and a loving tribute to a friend. 

Carla is like a mom to me.  I met her back in the days when I was in college working at JCPenny in the Window Coverings Department.  The ladies in that department were amazing to this nineteen year old girl who was desperate for a motherly influence and big sister advice.  During those days, those ladies got to know my dad.  He would put his best Anderson charm at work and the smiles and laughter would commence.  That is how Carla met my dad and how over the years they remained email friends as they both watched over me growing up.

I have been working on all the thank you cards to the people who had flowers delivered to Dad's Memorial or the people who donated to his organizations but how do I say thank you to a gift like this?  A gift that is a reminder that you have to take care of life and cherish it because through that nurture, strength and beauty grows.

We will plant this spruce here at the farm with the plaque at it's base. 

It will be a place where we can easily see a symbol of strength and beauty which were traits of my Dad. 

It is also a reminder that as the years pass and the tree grows our memories should never cease because it's the strength of those memories that will keep him in our hearts.

Thank you Carla and Richard for such a beautiful and thoughtful gift. 

We will plant this tree in the Spring and we will love and care for it.

xoxo