Sitting in an overheated, stuffy office in late October, I'm not sure if I would have been annoyed or enchanted with the little girls frolicking in the leaves outside my window.
But that's what someone suffered in a Fall season many years ago.
Leaves are kid magnets, especially for this kid who seemed to have very little parent supervision.
My friend and I would drag my Dad's rake down the block to the county courthouse lawn to rake and jump into the abundant Mulberry leaf treasure in the cool afternoon. Sometimes we'd pile them high to dive into, other times rake them into giant floor plans where our imaginations could envision mansions filled with beautifully dressed ladies.
Those are the memories that directed me out of the house this morning almost mid-sentence.
I had mail that needed preparing, calendars that needed updating, calls to return (on top of the usual house demands) but I left it all open, scattered like leaves on the countertops as I walked out into the queer Autumn light in a hypnotic trance.
I raked and pulled and reminisced as I piled the leaves higher and bigger.
As if I were on a mission, I dragged the piles down the drive and began stacking them on one side until I discovered that the mist was conspiring against my plan, diligently trying to become a light rain.
Rain wouldn't do for a great, crunchy leaf pile.
I pulled the mound back across the drive to the other side shielded from the moisture with conifers...
"Mom!"
Snapping out of my trance, I responded.
"Do you have the brown bin?" (that's the garden waste bin).
"No" I replied.
I heard it being rolled from the back garden to the front
where my children promptly began filling it with leaves.
You can look at this two ways.
You can say,
"Wow, what wonderful children, to see you working and
come out to help without being asked -- on their school holiday!"
come out to help without being asked -- on their school holiday!"
Or you can see it like I did...
"Who ARE you people?!"
What kid bins a perfectly good jumping pile of leaves????
There, that's better.
At least they now understand this was supposed to be fun.
Precious photos -- so fun!! And I love the leaves!!
ReplyDeleteOMG! I've been gone from here too long! Miss Ky looks like she's grown a foot! Not to mention your son. I'm in shock because I thought everyone's children grew slower than mine did. Guess not...
ReplyDeleteWhat the heck? Leaves are for jumping in! We didn't have leaves to jump in, so I piled cut grass for jumping as a kid.
ReplyDeleteMiss Ky is adorable, as always. :)
So funny. I always had wonderful images of raking leaves and jumping in piles in the fall--then I became the grown up and had massive trees in my yard with endless leaves--now, it's not such a romantic image anymore. :-)
ReplyDeleteI miss playing in leaves...we don't have any!!!
ReplyDeleteOh Cute!
ReplyDeleteInnocent fun... adults are lacking it... *wink*
Aw...I think it is sweet that you have such willing helpers. Sometimes fun has to be taught, I guess. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're teaching those kids of yours some immaturity. You're a good mom! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat gorgeous photos (and children!).
ReplyDeleteWe've had too much rain to even go to the pumpkin farm as yet much less jump in leaf piles. :(
what a truly delightful post! i never got around to getting any pictures of the leaves this year...i guess that there weren't any that wanted me to take their picture :)
ReplyDeletethank you for your visual words!
Too much fun!!! They are growing up too fast. Stop feeding them;)
ReplyDeleteOh I love this post and those pics!!!!
ReplyDeletethose are fabulous pictures dear Jeri. Love that little girl. And those leaves- oh how I miss the reds! We have TONS of yellows of every kind but not so much red here.
ReplyDeleteOh you wonderful endearing mother you!!! The child in your insides is alive and well.
ReplyDeleteI keep waiting for the rain to stop so I can rake up our leaves and call the grandkids...alas, it might be next year before they get a good jump. Now they would look like mud wrestlers.
ReplyDeleteI am soooo completely glued to this post. It reminds me of my childhood in upstate NY and my many happy memories raking and jumping into brilliant mounds of leaves. My twin brother and I were featured in the newspaper once doing just that. We were five and dressed completely in black. We looked like two very young hip beatnicks.
ReplyDeleteThanks also for the beautiful images. It is indeed the most magical time of year. I can smell the leaves burning on the crisp autumn air.
Fitting that my word verification is "snort."
The rules have changed, you know. There weren't garden wheelie bins when we were children. Maybe we would have done the same if given the chance.
ReplyDeleteCrispy, crunchy leaves!! Hooray! Fall's gift to every kid (regardless of age). We're not there yet (roses still blommin'), but next month will be a crunchy month around here, for sure!
ReplyDelete: D
I was worried there.....
ReplyDeleteSweet pics. Love the leaves, so gorgeous.
Tell your kids there's room for improvement here though. I want to see actual leaf frolicking going on!!! LOL
We are going to Missouri for Thanksgiving where one of the major plans is to rake up the oak leaves under a couple of trees so my kids can jump in them. We don't go enough at the right time of year for them to understand at first. I'll have to teach them again.
ReplyDelete