Leaf Fun!

The foliage this year is nothing short of breathtaking.  I don't remember another year where the colors have been as vibrant and the sky has been routinely blue and clear. The weather this fall has been spectacular, and I've been taking full advantage by being outside.

Robby has adjusted to his full-day school routine and instead of picking up an exhausted little guy, he is now full of energy and ready to play. Each afternoon we have been spending a few hours playing outside. Although I still don't understand some of the games we play, he seems to know what is going on and is having fun so I've learned to just go with the flow.

A few days ago Robby found the rake in our garage and began working on the leaves in the yard. I was delighted that he was willingly helping with raking. I didn't want anything to interrupt his working, so I quietly began to pick up and bag sticks. After about 30 minutes he managed to create an imposing leaf pile that was at least four feet high and six feet wide. Unfortunately, it was created in the middle of our yard, so I knew that it was going to have to be dismantled and moved.

It turns out that my little helper had a plan that had nothing to do with helping. After I acknowledged the mass of his pile, he walked up the hill turned towards the leaf mountain and took off running. The fact that his boots came off in the middle of his sprint did not diminish his belly flop dive into the middle of his pile!

After crashing into the leaves, he urged me to run and jump in as well. Although I knew that the leaf pile was large, I also realized that it wasn't nearly big enough to cushion my bum. I'm too old to dive into leaves, but not wanting to disappoint him, I came up with the next best option.

Leaf fight!  Robby and I spent the next 45 minutes chasing each other around the yard, trying to throw handfuls of leaves at each other. By the time the sun was setting, we were famished, exhausted, and covered with dirt, leaf bits. and more than a few spiders.  Our fight managed to disperse the leaves that were had been carefully piled, saving me the trouble of having to move the massive collection.

Robby may be too big to kiss me goodbye in front of his classmates, but I'm happy that he still wants to play with me. I know that these times are limited so I'm thoroughly enjoying every moment!