Trees play a special role in my life. They accompanied my growth, and my personal experiences and memories often 1with them. There was a row of poplars（杨树）in my first childhood home; I never2the house without the trees.
Out on the farm, my grandparents always cut a Christmas tree from the fields. They were always short. Those trees were a family 3; I can still 4 their smell all these years later.
The pines in our backyard were only 1.5 meters tall when we moved in. They grew right alongside our kids, and in the same 5: silently and quickly. Those pines once stretched a hammock（吊床）6 the two of them. They watched over our rounds of hide-and-seek, snowfalls, and 7 family gatherings.
A huge willow tree once 8 in the backyard as well. The kids had a tree-house in it for a long time. Other kids in the 9 enjoyed it too.
There is a sadness to a 10 tree; to the ground it makes when it hits the ground.
My husband and I were working as newspaper photographers 11 the active volcano Mount St. Helens exploded. Many nearby forests were 12 destroyed by the effects of the explosion. The loss of all the trees can somehow be as 13 as the loss of lives and homes.
Trees tend to be 14 of strength and beauty.
The trees returned to Mount St. Helens -- and they returned 15 than the experts predicted. To all who had witnessed the disaster, the 16 was encouraging. Those small trees 17 us of the beauty of new beginnings.
We've filled in the empty holes 18 the pines stood and dug a new hole that will soon be home to a new tree.
One of the grandchildren asked how tall the new tree is.
“Not much taller than I am,” I said.
“Can we decorate it for Christmas?” she asked, eyes 19.
The old trees may be gone, but the new one will soon become part of my grandchildren's 20 for many years to come.
