Sleep & Leaves

With my new work hours, I have an entirely different relationship with sleep. A.K.A. I can't ever seem to get enough, even on my days off. I worked Monday night, but I don't go in again until Saturday night. So yesterday (Tuesday morning... otherwise known as when-I-get-off-work-from-Monday) I took Rob & Jake to school and then went and got some badly needed groceries. I got home and put away the must-be-cold things and then I went to sleep and slept 10:30 am - 3 pm. The kids got home and I went about the usual evening stuff. Bedtime came and I was out like a light somewhere around 10:30 pm. Got up with my hubby at 4:30 am and made him some coffee (the {almost} ultimate act of love), then stayed awake and read. By 11, I am falling asleep.... UGH!

So when I took the dog out, I decided to stay out and rake some leaves....

We have a huge maple tree in out front yard that I absolutely love. The only thing that would make it better would be if the leaves turned a brilliant red, or even orange, in the fall instead of a nondescript yellow. Bu anyway... my front yard was relatively covered in leaves. The back yard is too, but to a lesser extent and will havt to be another day.

I was raking them out to the street when I started thinking about fall when I was a kid. We lived out in the country on about an acre of land that bordered a patch of pine woods on one side. In the front yeard, we had 3 big trees; I think they were oak, but my kid-mind didn't store details like that. I used to LOVE fall. We had leaves everywhere. I remember spending whole days out playing in the leaves, making piles and jumping in-swinging into-burying each other under them. I would also go down to the old lady down the street's yard and play in her leaves so my brothers and sister wouldn't mess up my creations. You see, I would use the leaves to design a house (walls, furniture, the works) and then play in them.

I have no idea what the ultimate destination of my childhood leaf piles was... here in town, we just get them out into the street and they come down the street with a bobcat and a big vacu-sucker machine.

But... I was feeling notstalgic....So, while my neighbors all have their leaves neatly in the street or just mysteriously vanished, I raked mine into a BIG pile in the middle of the yard. An afterschool surprise for my boys.

~~I hope they enjoy it 'cuz my arms and shoulders are killing me!~~