You rake all day, the wind blows and carries most of your work right back to where it was before! If you're going to be outside raking leaves anyway, rake them into a pile. The pile will look like a mountain to those under four feet tall! Call for your children or grandchildren to race and jump into the mountain of leaves. They will laugh, roll, dive, push each other further down under, and you'll wonder why somebody wanted these old leaves all raked and perfect when they could be giving these little people memories to treasure for a lifetime! How these children will smile to themselves when they're 40, 50, or 82 years old, just remembering the parent or grandparent who always had time for you, someone who wasn't so worried about having his colorful Fall leaves in bags or having a perfect lawn…… probably the same person who took you fishing, taught you about gardens and the joy they give back, the one you could talk into buying you an ice cream cone on a Sunday afternoon, the one you could listen to the stories on the radio with in the dark, who kept you safe from the storms outside……and, sometimes, inside! That same person would play games with you all day long while it was raining outside, teach you where to approach the neighbor's beloved grapevines to take a few bunches before you were spotted, and put up a rope swing off the branch of that mighty oak in the back yard.
Sounds like a lot to do? Not really. Promise yourself to do just one of those things this Fall for the younger ones looking up to you, be it your child or grandchild. Next week or next Fall you can add another unforgettable memory for them. They'll forget the X-box games, the Barbie dolls, the movies on the flat screen TV, but they will remember your kindness and sharing forever.
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Nan has spent the past 35 years as a self-employed consultant in the financial world, but grew up fishing, camping, shelling, sailing, water & snow skiing, and horseback riding. Buy your serious fun stuff as master chess sets, electronic handheld games, camping gear, pool floats, water towables, jumping stilts, tents and inflatable boats at her site:
http://www.SeriousFunStuff.com
