Another passing

2011 has been the year from hell for me and it seems not to be finished yet. So far, I've lost my mother, my full-time job, several other relatives, my car and now, a big huge tree.
If you're wondering how a tree deserves to be in the list, let me explain. When I was 13, we moved into this house and my father and mother planted two spruce and one pine tree in the front yard. At the time, it looked funny since they were only knee high and tiny on a big expanse of lawn. But over the years, they grew and grew until they all reached about 30 feet, outliving the actual people who planted them - until last night.
Around 9:30 pm, I hear a strange noise, almost like someone opening a large bag of chips. Not scary or even loud - just odd. Since we were having a storm, I looked outside, expecting to see a planter or lawn chair out of place but instead, I could see down the street - something I don't ever remember being able to do before. Then it hit me - I could see down the street because a tree was gone. It was one of the spruces my parents planted. And how it fell was odd - it could have fallen back and hit the house, forward and hit the road or to the right side and hit the neighbors car. Whatever way it fell, it should have taken out the power lines. But it did none of those things. Instead, it fell to the left and landed partially on the pine tree in the centre of the lawn, which is a bigger tree and could support it.
It did damage the pine but it seems to be more aesthetic than anything right now. The tree people will be removing some of damaged branches. I should know later if it needs to be removed completely. A tree company came by and cleaned up the spruce mess this morning and remarked that it was a miracle that it didn't knock the other tree down as well but I think it's pretty miraculous it fell the way it did and didn't damage anyone's property, my house or take out the power.
I love my trees, mostly because I associate them with my parents so sentimentally, it's a loss for me. But I do know that I won't be replacing them with another tree - those things get too big and can cost a fortune to remove at a later date. Maybe a small shrub will be planted in their place in the future to remember my parents.