Trees of Love, and a Special Little Boy

Ten years ago today, Missy, Gwanny and I loaded up in Gwanny's Oldsmobile and headed off in a hurry for Houston Northwest Hospital, Mycol somewhere behind us in traffic. Gwanny drove as fast as she could, but my contractions came a little faster.

While things didn't really go as we had planned, our beautiful baby boy entered this world at 12:08 pm on the side of FM 1960 near Interstate 45. Gwanny only stopped momentarily for me to birth him, then sped on to the hospital.

The last birthday party we had for Austin was at "Gwanny's Park", across the street from her house. It was a Blue's Clues party when he turned five.

Today, Mike and I met Missy and Gwanny for lunch. Steven and Aunt Doris joined us. It was very low-key, but just being together was important to the three of us-Missy, Gwanny, and me.

I also received several emails and an ecard, just letting me know that many people remember the significance of today, and that my son is loved by so many people. That helps me feel not so alone.

Austin loved to play "Blue's Clues" at home, making up clues for us to find things. He would put his pencil up to his face thoughtfully, pad of clue paper in hand, just as "Steve" on Blue's Clues did. Often times he'd say, "I know, let's plan a plan!"

So after lunch, Mike and I returned to the house to "plan a plan." Several years ago, Mycol and I had planted two Golden Rain trees in our front yard in Kingwood. One of our neighbors, Tamara, really liked the trees as they grew and took shape. She had asked the kids if they would collect some seeds for her some time, that she would like to plant trees like that. So the next time the trees began dropping seeds, Mycol took the kids outside and they gathered some "for Miss Tamara."

Tamara described for me what it was like, a memory she'll always treasure, how my children brought handfuls of seeds to her and how she remembered their little hands just full of seeds and how it felt when they poured them into her hands. She planted them first in planters and then started transplanting some in her yard.

Sometime after the fire she said, "Linda, I still have some trees that came from the seeds your children collected and gave to me. Would you like to have them?" She still had four in one pot. I definitely wanted them so she saved them for me until I had a house and yard where I could plant them.

The day Mike and I married, Tamara brought the seedlings to our house. A couple of days ago, thinking of Austin's birthday, Mike asked me, "What do you want to do on Monday?" I didn't really have a plan. "I was wondering if you might want to plant those trees," he suggested. THE TREES!!!! YES!!! "That's a great idea," I told him. Mike went to the store and bought potting soil and some wire mesh to protect the little seedlings from being mowed down.

Together, we transplanted two of the four trees in honor of my son, who I miss so very much. Later, as we sat on the porch I thanked Mike again for his thoughtfulness and compassionate heart. He took my hand and looking me in the eyes said softly, "I love the kids."