LEAF PILES

My son Alex and I were walking in the neighborhood watching as our neighbors were either leaf blowing or raking up the leaves that were blanketing their yards.

“This is way too soon.” I complained as I listened to the crunch of the leaves under my feet as we walked along.

Piles of leaves were already at the curb. “I swear this looks more like October than August!” I looked over at Alex as I used the edge of my short-sleeve shirt to wipe the sweat from my forehead. “Thank goodness the ninety degree temperature lets me know we’re still in summer.”

Alex looked up at the trees. “Some of the leaves are already changing color.”

I followed his gaze. “Between the heat and not getting much rain it’s really stressing the trees. That’s why they’re dropping their leaves early.” I looked over at Alex and shrugged my shoulders. “It helps them conserve their energy.”

“Kind of like a dog shedding.” Alex laughed.

I had to laugh. “I guess that’s a good analogy.”

We walked by a pile of leaves that had been raked into the middle of a neighbors yard and watched as several of their young kids ran across the grass and jumped into the leaves.

“Oh, come on!” I whispered to Alex. “In this heat they’re going to be coming out of that pile with half the leaves stuck to them.”

Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened as they rolled out of the pile giggling and picking leaves off of each other.

I nodded my head towards the kids and looked at Alex. “You know what they should be doing instead of jumping in leaves?”

Alex looked confused. “What?”

“Playing in a kiddie pool or running through a water sprinkler!” I dabbed another bead of sweat from my upper lip with the collar of my shirt. “Jumping in a leaf pile should be months away for outdoor fun!”

Alex looked over his shoulder at the kids playing in the leaves. “They sure seem like they’re having fun.”

We could still hear them giggling as we turned the corner and headed down another block.

I shook my head. “They’re little kids. They don’t know what’s appropriate summer fun.”

Alex started to laugh. “Appropriate summer fun?” He looked over at me. “You mean like walking in ninety degree weather is appropriate summer fun?”

I shook my head again. “I never said this was summer fun.” I could feel a drip of sweat moving slowly down my spine. “This is hoping that I drop a few pounds before I have to go back to school in the fall.” I stopped under the shade of a tree, to get a break from the sun for a moment. “What I consider appropriate summer fun, for my age group at least, is sitting on the porch, with a cool breeze blowing, reading a good book, and sipping on a glass of wine.” I sighed as I thought about it. “That’s my age appropriate summer fun.”

“That’s true.” Alex laughed. “Dad and I know exactly where to find you after dinner every night.”

“See.” I smiled over at him. “I know how to have fun.”