Grandpa's Tree

And no, I'm not copying Cassie.  I do have a favorite tree, but it's not a particular type.  It is literally a particular tree in a specific place in the world.

My grandfather lived in the same neighborhood as my elementary school.  He, my grandmother, and my uncle cared for my sister and me after school every day, up until Grandma and Grandpa's deaths.  In the backyard of their house, there was a swing set.  It was a simple, unassuming thing - just two swings on a hardy frame that my sister and I spent a lot of time enjoying.  Grandpa would adjust the height of the swing as we grew so that our feet wouldn't hit the ground too much when we swung back down.  I remember how the ground was dug out underneath each swing from our feet, and the retaining wall running along the right side, made of slabs of stone.  I remember, once, my uncle found a bumblebee meandering along that wall, and she had a smaller bumblebee on her back.  I still can't believe that I wanted to squish them.  Then there was a really large shrub behind the swings, at the end of the wall, that we never went near, though I don't remember why.  I miss those swings...

Anyway, to the left of the swing set, there was a bar that my sister and I used to practice our gymnastics (you know, when we were still small enough to use it; it wasn't very far off the ground).  Further left, about ten feet from that bar, were two trees, growing behind the garage.  I have no idea what kind they are, but Grandpa always claimed that he had them specifically planted in his backyard for my sister and me.  Now, my grandfather made up a lot of stories (I cannot even begin to list all the things he did in the armed forces during World War II), but I believed this one wholeheartedly when I was a child, and I'd like to continue believing it.  I guess some evidence to the truth of the story could be that one tree was always taller than the other, though whether it was three years taller (because I'm three years older than my sister), I have no idea.

But this tree is easily my favorite in the whole world.  I don't care if Grandpa put it there specifically for me in his backyard.  The point is that it was my tree, and to be honest, I never realized how much I missed it until I started writing this post.  I don't even know if the tree is still there...