My mother's idea of a branch prop - quite a success, I thought ...
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This small apple tree has the most peculiar history (at least in my eyes - bear with me here ...). It is one of those symbols of convergence that epitomizes a life well spent: My father was given this tree when he retired; it wasn't the nicest kind of retirement (some sort of blame game and re-organising going on in the firm), but the young sapling (at the time) was a really nice touch. Anyhow, my mother's were (small-time and rather poor) farmers, and even my grandfather, who ended up working as a truck driver and janitor for most of his life (being the youngest son of a farmer isn't conducive to inheriting even a small farm), had owned and leased some orchards to grow his own fruit. When my parents moved back to Germany, they took the small tree in its wooden pot and just put it into the garden. That was more than twenty years ago. The tree has long since grown *through* the bottom of the pot and taken root in the soil (the upper part of its roots are still in the pot, though - that's why it's still there). And for years and years now, it has always born fruit - very good apples, and lots of them, considering its size. It stands as a symbol for the last twenty-odd years my parents had in their own house - good years, all considered, even if things got rougher and rougher over the last five years with their health deteriorating, which finally triggered their decision to opt for assisted living last autumn ... They're waiting for their place now ...
This autumn, the tree will be dug up and moved to a new home - just like my parents, although, alas, not at the same place ... My mother arranged that and will see to it that it happens. The tree should not have to die just because someone else takes over the house and garden. And now it won't. I really, really glad about that ...
M.