Week 45 of My Project 52 Photography Challenge | Tree

I had a lot of different ways that I thought about photographing this week’s Project 52 Photography Challenge. I mean, with “Tree”, I naturally thought it would be a picture I would take outside. Perhaps of a Christmas tree, or a tree stump, or the bare winter branches against the sky…

Week 45 of My Project 52 Photography Challenge | Tree

However, when I would stop to think about trees, I kept coming back to the memory of my Grandmother’s favorite tree… A cherry willow. Years ago, my Grandmother had to have a tree removed from her property; and when she did, she replaced it with a beautiful cherry willow tree. However, she was only able to enjoy the tree’s beautiful blooms for a few years, before she was forced to move from her home, into an assisted living home, due to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

The process of leaving your home of 50+ years, combined with the loss of your independence, and your memory is a lot of adjustment for a person. During the process, the thing she kept saying she was the most upset about, was having to miss the blooming of her tree in the coming spring. And so, that spring, I went to her old home and photographed the blooms on her tree, framed one and gifted it to her for Mother’s Day. I knew it wasn’t the same, but I wanted her to be able to enjoy her tree, regardless of where she lived.

My Grandmother passed away last December, and now the photo of her tree hangs in my bedroom. One day, I plan to plant a cherry willow in our yard, but for now, I’ll just have to make due with this photo, as she did for many years.

Be sure to check out last week’s challenge!

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