Auburn University and city officials announced July 21 that fans will be permitted to continue rolling the Oaks at Toomer's Corner this season.
This gives the Auburn family some good news in a sea of dread regarding the trees.
Day after day, the Oaks look sicker, and a once-joyous location is now a constant reminder of their impending fate.
We are more than grateful for the opportunity to keep this tradition alive for a least another year, but feel it won't quite be the same.
We applaud the effort the crews will have to put in this year to hand pick the toilet paper out of the trees.
Lord knows we wouldn't want that job.
The barricades will remain up indefinitely, and fans may use Toomer's Corner as simply a meeting place and not risk the tree's health.
Recently, the University released a statement saying when the fate of the trees is decided, instead of planting new trees, a structure may be put in place of the oaks.
Now Updyke has not only damaged our trees, he has potentially damaged a tradition.
Everyone remembers their first time rolling Toomer's, whether it was at age 4 or 40.
Nobody can forget the sight after the national championship win of fans sprinting to celebrate at the corner.
Nothing can compare to the sense of camaraderie felt by the thousands of people flinging toilet paper into the trees' inviting branches.
Who knows what the new structure would look like or what victory celebrations will entail without the trees.
The Toomer's tradition is so ingrained into our family, many fans take toilet paper to away games to throw from the stands should we win.
This tradition may be silly to those looking from the outside in, but to us it is sacred.
It is rare to get so many people together in such close quarters and have them all in a good mood.
You could bump into someone or step on a foot, and the person will just smile back with a big "War Eagle."
This isn't something we want to see fade into Auburn folklore.
When we're grandparents, we want to roll the corner with our grandbabies, not regale the story of how the trees were killed.
We hope the University will find a way to keep the tradition alive in the location it's in now.
We also may not see any more direct descendants of the Toomer's Oak trees.
Currently, the trees are not producing acorns, so this batch of seedlings may be the last.
The University is holding a lottery in rounds and 600 lucky winners out of 5,000 people registered will be able to take a Toomer's seedling home.
This may be the end of an era, and we feel the need to take a moment a reflect.
While they aren't people, the trees are living things and have a spirit all their own.
They stand behind us in photos, cradling us in their outstretched arms.
They welcome us home after vacations or holidays away.
They never complain about the weight of the toilet paper or the pressure of the hose cleaning them, but share in our triumph and join in our cheers.
They have been set ablaze by bitter losers and run into by drunken buffoons. They never ask for an apology, but recover and prepare for the next game.
They have shared in our trials and tribulations through the years and have always been there when we needed them.
It is painful for us to stand by and not be able to do anything the one time they need us.
The prognosis is grim, and all we can do is keep a hopeful eye on them and pray.
We have been told on more than one occasion the Oaks will not survive.
This isn't the first time in history the odds have been stacked against us, and we have always fought hard.
Hopefully the trees have a lot of fight left in them.
For this season, we will just have to keep our spirits (and our hopes) high.
See you at the corner.
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