The Magic of a Leaf Pile

When I was a kid, we lived in a brown house in ohio. That house was magical to me. We had these HUGE yards, one in the front, by the highway, it was huge with big trees, and we didnt play in the front yard, because of the road. Then we had a huge backyard with all our play equipment, etc. The only time I ever really remember playing in the big front yard, was when the leaves fell. My dad would rake leaves. He would make the biggest leaf piles you had ever seen. HUGE!!!!! Then, with my mom taking pictures of course, my little sister and I would fly into each pile over and over and over. We would do this all afternoon one weekend in the fall. During the week we would make little leaf piles in the backyard, usually in front of the swing set so that we could jump from our swings, into the piles, but that was NOTHING compared to the big leaf piles my daddy would rake up for us.

Keith and I have tried to rake leaves each year for our kids to jump in. Unfortunately we dont have big trees in our front yard. But our neighbor does!! So this morning, even though it was cold and grey outside, I raked leaves from my neighbors yard that had blown into my yard, into a big pile, and let my kids jump!!! Dylan has been sick, so he started coughing about the third jump. By the time they each had jumped about 5 times, Dylan could hardly breathe, and we were all freezing, so we went inside. They are snuggled up in blankets right now having graham crackers and I have the front inside door open, so I can look out at our leaf pile, for just a few more minutes. What is the magic of leaf piles?? What is it that makes even me, a 27 year old mom, want to go jump in the leaves????? I am so thankful that I can be a mommy, that I can rake leaves, and let my kids jump in them. That I had the best parents as a child, who made opportunities for me and my sister to have "magic". That is what I want for my kids. I want their childhood to be magical like mine was. It is harder I think now, because first of all the world is a scarier place, and second of all, i have a sick kid and one with a disability. But I sure still try to make magic. Like for instance, today, Dylan helped me make "mummy hot dogs" for lunch. He found a recipe in a halloween magazine ( yes i know its november, lol) and he wanted to try them out. So this weekend we bought the ingredients, and today, like magic, hot dogs were turned into spooky mummys. They sure tasted good! What is it about leaf piles that makes me want my childhood back? What about hotdogs in the shape of mummys? I dont know. I guess I will live vicariously through my kids and do everything I can to make their childhood magic. Oh, and yes, I am going to wait until keith gets home tonight, and im going to rake the pile back up really big, and im going to go jump in the leaves. I recommend that every mom should go out right now, and jump in the leaves with their kids.