Once upon a time, there was a hard-to-live-with mother and a wild 3-year old son who were extremely excited to give their wonderful husband/daddy his Father’s Day gift. You see, the man in their lives loved to work with his tools in the garage but hated the Texas heat more than most anything. The pair decided that an outdoor misting fan would be the best gift ever.
The father was very touched by the gift, but embarrassingly reminded the mother that the misting fan would make all of his tools rust. Um, oops? So, the threesome set off on Father’s Day to Lowe’s to return the misting fan and to let Daddy pick out something he could really use.
However, instead of picking out some new power tool or a brand new set of drill bits, the father chose something the entire family could enjoy – a new tree for their backyard. Until then, the family’s backyard was a barren wasteland of nothing but old farm land turned into a developers dream. Nothing but poorly laid sod covered the ground, and the Texas afternoon proved too hot for the family to enjoy being outdoors with no shade. Even the poor grass with suffering from the lack of shade.
So, on his fourth Father’s Day, the daddy put a wet Crate and Barrel embroidered dish towel on his head to keep him cool and dug a giant hole with his shovel.
Okay, the beautiful mother did help with the manual labor, just in case you were keeping score. You can tell because she dropped her sunglasses inside the hole. She also may or may not have actually fallen into said hole at one point, but that’s really just speculation.
It wasn’t much longer until that wonderful tree was in the ground. The family lives in the windiest place on Earth (Chicago has nothing on this flat, former farmland), so the tree will be staked in place for at least a year.
Lest you think that the little family of three is all work and no play, the boys found some time to have a little fun while watering in the new addition to their home.
That little tree may not look like much now, but it is just the beginning of the transformation of that backyard from hot Texas misery to a wonderful family playground. It will soon be joined by a few more trees and later – possibly next Spring – by gardens and flowerbeds.
What’s now not much more than a leafy stick…
…will transform before our eyes into a gorgeous, fast growing flowering pear tree, our very own Giving Tree.
Until then, we’ll always have our Giving Tree as a reminder. Thank you, Tom.
Photo Credits:
-Misting fan courtesy of Backyard City
-Mature Cleveland Flowering Pear courtesy of Dave’s Complete Lawn Care
Deb says
Oh, I can totally sympathize with you and this awful Texas heat!! Living in Dallas it gets unbelievably hot and humid, so outdoor work in the summer is miserable. That tree will be so beautiful when it gets bigger, and boy do they grow fast. We put a Bradford in about 4 years ago and it is REALLY big now. You'll have plenty of shade before you know it.
Kimm at Reinvented says
What a sweet story, and I LOVE your new tree!
Empty Nest Full Life says
Great story of your "Giving Tree" ! Jackie
AmyJo says
Wow! A beautiful story and impressive planting job. Living in Austin with its missing topsoil and rocky ground, I am surprised that you managed to get that hole. We had to rent a jackhammer to bust out enough rock to plant our tree!
Paige says
That has got to be one of the sweetest Father's Day stories ever!! What a sweet sweet hubby you have!
Living With Lindsay says
Cheryl- Oh, thank you SO much for this info! I'm really bad in the garden and had never planted a tree, so we are definitely worried. We read the directions that came with the tree and it said to dig the hole 2 times as wide as the root ball and deep enough so the top of the root ball is slightly above soil level. We did that and it wasn't a tight fit at all. We then added a mix of some top soil, "tree soil" (that has nutrients) and some of the existing soil to fill in the hole. As you could probably tell, our "soil" here is clay, so we definitely wanted to add in some looser soil for sure. I'll keep an eye on it to make sure it's not starting to look bad, and if it does, we'll redig the hole. Thanks!
Amyjo- I don't know if it's because our house is built on former farmland, but we have mostly clay! There were a few rocks in there and some bits of clay that were as hard as rock, but it was pretty easy to dig out. Tom would have flipped if we would have had to rent a jackhammer! LOL
Richella says
What a fun post. . . and in the midst of the fun, what a beautiful tribute to your husband. Sounds like you are really blessed. It's a joy to read how he demonstrates his love to your family–and it's a blessing to me to know how much you love and respect him. Way to go!
Hope your tree flourishes along with everything good in your life!
Cheryl says
Ahhhhhhhh sweet~
I was looking at the dug hole and the root ball of your tree. Was it a tight fit? I only ask this because of the possible risk of "glazing" which simply means that the sides and bottom of a hole become smoothed by your shovel and that inturn forms a barrier, through which water has difficulty passing. I can see some of that in your hole. Just thought I'd mention it…. it probably will be fine, but if your tree starts to look "bad" redig the hole deeper (then backfill with loose soil) and wider and then just replant.
Tina says
Lindsay. Not even joking, but this post made me cry. I'm still crying. (A bit emotional, huh?) What a beautiful, beautiful father's day story. Your family is truly blessed, which you already know. But just know that someone who doesn't even know you guys thinks that you have a fabulous husband. Mine is just as wonderful, so I think this is why it hit home for me.
It might not have seemed like much to Tom when he decided to get a tree instead of something else for himself, but its a true testament to the kind of person he is. The kind of father he is.
Great, great post. =)
Lindy says
That's such a beautiful story! I love flowering pear trees. Bradford Pear trees are really popular in Georgia and I love it when they bloom in the spring. You will have to post pictures of your tree as it grows!
Sarah @ Thrifty Decor Chick says
You will be shocked at how fast a pear tree grows!!! They get massive fast. Just a couple/three years and you'll have a bunch more shade. 🙂
trish says
What a beautiful "giving tree"! I especially like the shot of dad and son wet from a water fight! Good times!
Sincerely ~ Tricia Anne
Heather says
What a great story – you should definitely read "The Giving Tree" under your own giving tree – love it!!
Laurel @ Ducks in a Row says
We gave our daddy trees for fathers day – trying to make our backyard something sweet. Love your story.