A Fine Fall Day

Well, it is official- Fall is my new favorite season! I started enjoying it more than usual a few years ago when Sean and I were married in the fall and my affection for it has continued to grow each year. I have always preferred the summertime but now that I have a small child and cannot spend my free hours laying around a pool drinking lemonade and reading magazines....we'll just say summer isn't what it used to be :)

But now we have Fall! Oh, glorious fall!

The weather is perfect for taking a child outside and spending lots of time wandering slowly down sidewalks looking for cool stuff like sticks and trash. The crisp air is invigorating and smells wonderful. The lighting is just beautiful and we are fortunate to have some gorgeous trees in our front yard that melt from one amazing color into another...and of course, you can't help but to be aware that the holidays are just around the corner. I totally admit, I pulled out the Christmas music about 3 weeks ago during one of our first cold and rainy days and have been playing it ever since (and I am not ashamed a bit!).

But one of the most surprising discoveries of this particular fall is the joy I have found raking leaves in our front yard.

I know, my life oozes with reasons to envy me.

But seriously, if you read my post about vaccuuming maybe this makes more sense, it is so satisfying! You get to be outside and with one little sweep of the rake, you collect a nice little pile of leaves and you leave behind a patch of grass that looks fabulous compared to the rest of your yard. In only a few minutes, the whole front of your house looks great!

Ok...there is more to this than I am letting on:
(but raking really is a great form of therapy and I highly recommend it to anyone who desperately needs to feel successful and productive in at least one area of their life)

I must admit that the true joy of raking leaves can only fully be acheived when you have a one year old little guy out there "helping" you. You know, helping you respread all the leaves out after you have put them into their nice, neat piles and using the broom to whack more leaves out of the trees. Like so many other areas of my life, Oliver just brings a new dimension of life and joy to anything I do. He watches what I do and then genuinely does his best to do the task himself- not usually successful, but then again, what is success in a situation like this? We are laughing and playing outside in the leaves and the fresh air, and Oliver is learning, on his own level, how to contribute to our household. The work might not get completely finished but I have never minded so little to watch someone run through my leaf piles.

And guess what we will be doing outside again tomorrow?



You must click on this picture to see the look on Oliver's face.

Double Fisting: a highly advanced raking technique

And of course, everything is more fun when Uncle Benny is around!

Squeeze!!