"Are you done yet?" Nathaniel readies for the reply eyes focused on the slowly growing pile of leaves. This is the third anticipation filled plea. "No, not yet. So Nathaniel, why am I raking up the leaves?" Without hesitation he replies "So we can jump in them!" He seemed a little confused by the question.Why else would I be spending a beautiful fall day fighting the wind for a pile of leaves? I smiled.
That was a conversation Nathaniel and I had in October last year. We still lived in Atlanta with one lonely tree in the front yard. Things have not changed much although Nathaniel is now a bit more proactive and we have a few more trees. On Saturday Nathaniel suited up to take on the cold breeze outside. He wrapped up tight and then took me out to the garage to take down the rake. He had a plan.
I watched him off and on for about a half hour wrestling the wind for the leaves and dragging them in to a pile. He was determined. Benjamin was outside too climbing on the swing set in a happy struggle against the same nemesis. It was time for some help so I went out and Nathaniel gladly handed me the rake and then told me the rules. He wanted the pile REALLY big and explained that they could not jump in the leaves until Joelle came out too. So he ran to the house to let Janice know that Joelle needed to dress for the occasion. The video tells the rest of the story. Nathaniel even went in to get Janice and Evelyn. We played in the leaves for nearly 2 hours. Evelyn had no idea what the fuss was about. She did not take any real pleasure in a pile of dried leaves. At one point in the video you can see her pause and her tongue is searching the inside of her mouth. I think she got a bit of leaf in her mouth. Yuck.
We have a bunch of pictures too. Click here or the image below to see the set on Flickr.
I watched him off and on for about a half hour wrestling the wind for the leaves and dragging them in to a pile. He was determined. Benjamin was outside too climbing on the swing set in a happy struggle against the same nemesis. It was time for some help so I went out and Nathaniel gladly handed me the rake and then told me the rules. He wanted the pile REALLY big and explained that they could not jump in the leaves until Joelle came out too. So he ran to the house to let Janice know that Joelle needed to dress for the occasion. The video tells the rest of the story. Nathaniel even went in to get Janice and Evelyn. We played in the leaves for nearly 2 hours. Evelyn had no idea what the fuss was about. She did not take any real pleasure in a pile of dried leaves. At one point in the video you can see her pause and her tongue is searching the inside of her mouth. I think she got a bit of leaf in her mouth. Yuck.
We have a bunch of pictures too. Click here or the image below to see the set on Flickr.
