Once Upon a Time.......

...there was a little maple tree living in a nursery somewhere in Boise. This
little tree wished so much that he could someday have a family choose him
to be their tree. He knew he could grow big and tall and strong for his family.
He would give them shade and provide a nice place for them to sit under
and relax.
Then one day his wish came true! A family came and chose him to take
to their new house and yard. This family had three little boys and a little
girl. The tree was excited to grow up with this family and be a part of their
family history. And he did grow up! For fifteen years this little maple tree
grew big and tall and strong and he did provide lots of shade for his family's
family gatherings and their little MOOSE to lie under and take his naps in
the summer.
The family loved their tree and they took good care of him. They watered,
fertilized, and pruned his branches just right! Then one summer everything
changed.
Something got sucked up into this tree's root system and the tree got sick.
His family continued to take care of him and nurse him with tender loving
care but nothing seemed to really help and slowly the tree died off branch
by branch.
Still, the family had hope that something they might do could save
their tree. Finally, in the spring of 2009, after twenty-one years of serving
his family, the tree only had the strenth in one little branch to grow leaves
for his family. So, lovingly, his family said one last good-bye to their good friend.