When my parents moved to Texas one of the first things they did was cultivate the soil in the backyard for a beautiful and bountiful garden. They planted fruit trees throughout the yard and grape vines over a beautiful arbor.
When my parents lived in Massachusetts they did not plant fig, apricot or olive trees because of the harsher climate. However in Texas with the warmer climate my father was so pleased to plant and grow figs which are a family favorite. And not long after the move to Texas my dad also planted an olive tree which reminded him of Italy.
He took tender care of the olive tree and his gardens. My mom would often send care packages with all kinds of goodies from home. And they usually included fresh grapefruits, oranges, herbs and delightful treats from their garden.
When my father died his olive tree was 19 years old and had grown into a most beautiful and sturdy tree, great for shade and for firm ripe olives. And as we later found out, one of the oldest olive trees of record in South Texas.
Friends from the school in San Antonio where my sister Anna worked had a tree planted in our dad’s memory. That is where Anna met Sandy, proprietor of Sandy Oaks Olive Orchard. When it came time to sell my parents house one of the hardest things was leaving the gardens, olive and fruit trees. So when my sister Anna suggested that we donate the tree. We all loved the idea and we donated the tree to Sandy. It was only fitting to us that Daddy’s tree should continue to be cared for and loved as he so gently cared for it over the years.
When John and I were dating he contacted my sister Anna an told her he was bringing me to Texas for my birthday. So he and my family planned a birthday celebration. When we arrived we stayed a few days in San Antonio with my sister Anna and her husband Rich. And we planned to head to Corpus Christi to meet up with the rest of the family over the weekend. On the drive from San Antonio to Corpus Christi we made a stop as we sometimes did to visit Sandy and Daddy's tree.
Sandy, always so welcoming and hospitable showed us the changes she had made since the last time we were there. The new buildings she was building and the plans she had to expand. We visited for a while, walked around her ranch and took pictures by daddy's tree. It was such a blessed time, and I was so grateful that John was able to meet her and to see Daddy's tree for the first time.
Not long after Sandy took daddy's tree to Sandy Oaks, Anna and Rich gave us each a shadow box. It was a picture of Daddy's tree with a piece of the bark mounted in a shadow box frame. The shadow box is displayed on my dining room buffet. The dining room buffet that is part of the wonderful dining room set that belonged to my parents and was gifted to me, the youngest in the family.
Last night I was putting things away in the dining room and the shadow box caught my eye. I stood and looked at it for a long while, I thought about my parents, daddy's tree, Anna and Rich's thoughtfulness in giving us the shadow boxes as a sweet remembrance, Sandy and her generous kindness to our family and how now the Olive Tree was under the loving care of Sandy at Sandy Oaks.
Today my sister shared with us that Sandy lost her battle with cancer and passed away recently. A sad day to be sure knowing another kind, beautiful, peaceful light has gone from this world. And at the same time a smile of remembrance for the goodness of a beautiful soul that touched my life. Truly a blessing.
There is a little story about the tree with a link to Sandy Oaks Olive Orchard on my Made With Love - A Tribute to my Parents website. Sandy has gone and Sandy Oaks is closing, but the memories and the remembrance of Sandy and her kindness and Daddy's Olive Tree lives on in our memories and in our hearts.
The world is full of the goodness of the Lord!!
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