liz's tree

The first six months that we were in our new (old) house, Charlie and I had a great amount of stamina for home improvement ... but the late night wallpaper stripping and painting sessions, quickly tapped us out. Over the past few months, we've slowly caught our second wind and have decided to focus our attention on landscaping at the front of the house.

The first thing to go were some big Holly evergreen bushes that blocked our view of the children when they were playing in the yard and appeared big and unruly. Chop! Chop!  

The next thing to go was a tired magnolia that the children enjoyed playing in, but I was always worried it would impale them if they fell off a branch. While Charlie and I were thrilled to cut it down, Elizabeth was not so pleased with the decision. She was so distraught that she morphed in to a literal tree hugger as she wrapped herself around it and sobbed.  

Now, a quick word about Elizabeth ... I'm convinced that she is a hoarder in the making. As much as I love (LOVE) to purge, my child will not get rid of ANYTHING.  Caps to water bottles, muffins liners that she's crafted to look like paper flowers, outgrown toys, outgrown clothes, strings and random packaging are all part of her "collection." This past weekend, Charlie took her out for Chinese food and the next day, I found an empty "to-go" container [shaped like a little box] tucked in her sock drawer. 

Her father thought she was just being overly dramatic (which is a very common occurrence), so he thought he'd bring some overt drama of his own.  

And then some. 

She didn't think it was funny AT ALL.  

So I brought her inside and gave her a donut and tree? 

What tree?  Hey, can I keep this box when it's empty?! 

When we returned outside, the deed had been done. The dangerous magnolia had been chopped and Elizabeth's tears began anew. 

I could sense that although there was a certain amount of drama, there was a legitimate amount of genuine sadness that Elizabeth's favorite tree, albeit an eye sore, had been removed.  So I convinced her dad to dig out the stem and make a clean cut at the base.  

We then washed it off ... 

... and once it was dry, Elizabeth set about painting it. 

She was so excited that she painted every square inch with hearts and clouds. 

Liz's tree now sits on her dresser and serves as a book-end to hold up her CD collection. 

 

Seeing as Charlie wants to cut down a huge maple next, I should probably buy more paints.