Is it normal to love and mourn a tree?
There's a tree in my yard. Growing up, it was my favourite thing on our property. It was the perfect climbing tree, and it was big and beautiful. The tree had a happy kind of energy about it, and I'm not sure if it exuded this energy or if I appended it, but I felt content around it. Sitting in its strong branches, I certainly felt as if I loved the tree like a family member.
Fast forward to today and I'm all grown up and my favourite tree is dying. Every year it has fewer leaves, and its bark is falling off. It doesn't have much time left. I can hardly bear to look at it in this state. I feel crushed, and my heart sinks. Sometimes I go out just to touch it or talk to it. I feel guilt for not preventing its disease. I feel as if a part of my soul is dying with it.
Is it normal to love a tree this much and mourn it like a family member? In fact, I know I've felt deeper sorrow for this tree than for some of my actual human family members who weren't as much a positive part of my life.