What am I? #2

You've seen this before... guess "who" is talking.

"I remember when this place was full of life - the small families with their babies beneath us, sheltered from the storms and cooled from the sun. I am quite a bit older now, I admit, but that doesn't mean things had to change so drastically. There had to have been a way to avoid this ending.

I'm so lonely.

Once upon a time, my little sprouts were with me. They grew up like all young ones do, their faces to the sky. It didn't take long and they were as tall as I am! Oh, I was so proud then.

However, nothing compares to the pride I felt when they began their own families. Most of them ended up spreading their roots in the same area; other, taken on the wind to new & exciting parts of the world.

But now... I'm all alone. The journey ends with me. Of the family I loved & cherished I am the last. I hate it. I never expected to be the last to be standing - it's not right!

My lush homeland is now barren & silent. There are no more children playing in the grass, no families calling this home. It's only me. I fear once the seasons change and the heat of summer turns to the icy cold of winter, even I will fall to the hands of fate.

Some say I can serve a better purpose by giving up my life, but I cannot agree. Without me, the last of this place, who will hold the memories of how great it was? Who will even remember I was here? Who will remember this place was once full of life?"