I am not an Oak

I am not an oak. Ok, that may sound strange , but for as long as I can recall, whenever I was in a difficult time in my life, my Mother would say to me, "remember du bist eine Deutsch Eiche" which means You are a German Oak. In California, there are not too many Oak trees but plenty of beautiful oak furniture so I didn't seem to mind. After all it's just a saying. Then as life got rougher, I heard it all too often.
I live on 2 1/2 acres of Oak Trees. It seemed like a good idea at the time when we were looking for a home, but now I am plagued with ankle deep leaves in Fall. And most recently dealing with the ice storm mess that has showered my yard with tree width sized limbs all over the place courtesy of the over abundance of 40+ year old oak trees. After the insurance adjuster came out on Thursday, it was back to work. I don't know why it seemed like a revelation since I had an inkling prior to this, but I am extremely allergic to Oak Trees. Even though I took Claritin D that day for other allergy related whatevers, my lungs, sinus', and throat were plugged up as I went into the house gagging for air after about 3 hours of working in the yard. Usually if I am in the garden, I do not have too much contact with oak matter, so it wouldn't really bother me.
I still have no more than a whisper coming out of me when I speak. At least this week I have a real excuse for playing hooky from church.
So Mom, Ich bin nicht keine Deutsch Eiche! I'd call her myself but it seems I have been silenced by the rest of the oaks!