In a World of Octobers

I strapped on my pink and purple roller skates.  Brushed the brown bangs away from my eyes.  Skating.  Slowly, at first.  Then full speed, down the bumpy sidewalk.  Feeling the wind through my chin length hair, I propelled myself faster, and faster.  The skates lifted up, and I was flying. Seconds later, I landed into the largest pile of leaves on Kenilworth Road, dissolving into a pile of laughter.  I lay there surrounded by orange, yellow, and brown leaves for a minute, staring at the sky, then smiling for the camera as my mom took my picture. 

And I forgot about that moment. For decades.

Until I was reminded at about 10:30 yesterday morning.  When I experienced the joy, and heard the shrieks of excitement from my boys as they dove over and over again into an enormous pile of (once) neatly raked leaves on Vinewood Drive. 

As an adult, raking leaves is a chore.  Especially when you live in our neighborhood, surrounded by 100+ foot oak trees.  Starting in late August, you're bound to come across fallen leaves here and there, with the vast majority vacating the tall branches in early November.  Its a never ending process.  Especially since the wind tunnel in our front yard ensures that neighbors un-raked leaves end up on our lawn. 

As a child, raking leaves is an opportunity.  An adventure.  A highlight.  A few months back, Colin was desperately trying to collect the few rogue leaves in our backyard to make a suitable pile for jumping.  Little did he know, that a few weeks later, he'd have more leaves than he'd know what to do with. 

 

It may seem incredibly simple, but I absolutely loved watching the scene unfold on our tree lawn yesterday morning. It brought me back.  

Leaves flying through the air.  Frantically searching the pile for a missing red and gray striped mitten.  Watching a three year old march through the pile, arms above his head, rosy cheeks, and smiling from ear to ear (and if we're going to be honest here) snot dripping from his nose.  And a one-year old, desperately trying to escape the handful of leaves dumped on his head repeatedly. Half laughing, half crying (and if we're going to be honest here) mostly crying.

It was pure.  It was fun. It reminded me of a quote, from Anne of Green Gables (...which I found on Pinterest, although I'd love to be able to say I can quote literary classics)...

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.  And yes.  It's November.  But you get the point. 

One of the single handed best parts of being a parent is the ability to lose yourself. Lose yourself in the moment, in the process, in the experiance.   Forget about jobs, responsibilities, vegetables, cleaning, and everything else.  To be a kid again.  To see life through their unfiltered eyes.  To share in their excitement.  Push away the thoughts of re-raking the pile.  And just relish in the Octobers.

So in the spirit of Octobers (or Novembers, if you want to get technical), I set down the camera, grabbed a pile of leaves and threw them in the air, eliciting loud, enthusiastic cheers from the boys, and feeling a lot like that eight-year old girl in roller skates so many years ago.  As we walked up the driveway, headed inside to warm up, and dig into some leftover Halloween candy, I looked back at the disheveled tree lawn with a smile, and squeezed Colin's hand as he asked, "Can we do that again tomorrow?"