blown away

I sat on my couch this morning. Staring out into the grey abyss that we now call home... the city. There is a tree outside our window, one that i have watched go through the changes of the seasons.
When we first arrived it was pregnant with green leaves, bursting with life and energy i loved seeing the tree everyday. I felt like i was living in my own personal tree house. As the air started to chill, the leaves started to turn. Stunning shades of oranges and reds, the tree was still a delight to behold. As i would sit on my couch and stare out the orange would sooth me and give some life to the otherwise grey city behind it.
As i sat and stared at the leaves flittering to to the ground i noticed something that i wouldn't have seen had the leaves not been falling. A friend had made its home in my tree, and unnatural friend, one i didn't expect to see in my tree, but it lived there none-the-less.
A little red garment, a t-shirt i supposed. Rugged and worn from its sad little life, having no owner to warm its empty shell, made its home in my tree. My focus now became this little shirt. Chicago, known for its wind, pulled out all the stops in the fall, rain, sleet, wind, hail, and the likes took out their anger on my tree and hence the shirt. The wind robbed the leaves from my tree in literally a day. When i woke up they were there, when i got home... gone.
Surprisingly day after day, as i sat on my couch, the shirt was still there. It had more courage than i did, it faced all the storms the city threw at it and never bugged. I became quite fond of that little shirt, it had no owner, but a steady home that it held onto for dear life. Each day i saw it it gave me a sense of comfort.
Today i sat down with my morning cup of tea, months later, stared out the window, and got slightly lost in my home of concrete, but as i brought my focus in i realized something was missing... my little red garment friend was gone. Somehow the city had won the battle and taken my friend away.
However, today it gave me courage. The shirt had found a new home i supposed on another unsuspecting tree, chimney, or perhaps light post. It had moved on. We have seasons in life and they may blow hard, or be as sweet as spring, but we will move on. There is always a new adventure to be had, and sometimes we must hold fast, other times we can blow in the wind and see where life takes us.