The Oak Tree

A week has passed since I left my parents home. Returning home was nice, but the dazed undertone of my emotions returned soon after. I pretty much resigned from all duties outside the home. The simple tasks that complimented my life seemed pretty minimal compared to the events that had taken place a week earlier. The grey cloud was trying to pass from above my head, but in a way I found comfort in it.

Trying to explain this to anyone is useless. Unless you have had to mourn something in some form or fashion, you will never understand. Everyone deals with grief and disappointment differently. I realize this after spending literally every waking minute with my parents and siblings this past month. We are all very different...each with different opinions, beliefs and lives. Yet, the common bond that we share is a collective heartache for my dad. We have all had disappointment in our lives. Maybe it was the job you didn't get, or the test you didn't pass. Maybe it was your child's behavior or just a moment when you stuck your foot in your mouth. My dad just went through a major disappointment, but he came through it victoriously!

As I pulled into the driveway, I watched as the wind shook the leaves from their branches. It was almost as if it was raining leaves. I have yet to begin to rake them, instead enjoying their blanket of protection they lend to the yard. I long for that blanket of protection too....for my heart.

I came across this poem about a mighty Oak and I soon realized the mighty Oak in this poem describes my dad, too. Resilient, strong, unshaken...with roots deeper than you could ever imagine...a fighter. The similarities strike me as an omen of sorts. One brought to me like a present from nature.

The Oak Tree
A mighty wind
Blew night and day
It stole the oak tree's leaves away

Then snapped its boughs
And pulled its bark
Until the oak was tired and stark

But still the oak tree held its ground
While other trees fell all around
The weary wind gave up and spoke
How can you still be standing Oak

The oak tree said, I know that you
Can break each branch of mine in two
Carry every leaf away
Shake my limbs, and make me sway

But I have roots stretched in the earth
Growing stronger since my birth
You'll never touch them, for you see
They are the deepest part of me

Until today, I wasn't sure
Of just how much I could endure
But now I've found, with thanks to you
I'm stronger than I ever knew

~ Johnny Ray Ryder, Jr. ~