temporary: birthdays and fall leaves

It’s Sunday morning and I am slowly getting a start to the new week. I am on my second cup of coffee and Ivy has been outside on patrol and she’s back inside. She’s curled up at my feet beneath the desk where I do much of my thinking and writing.

Ivy loves resting in the leaf pile, I think she feels camouflaged….

Friday was my birthday. It was also the coldest day of school year so far. I checked the temperature and it was 16°F. I smiled and thought back to when I was 16 years old. I’ve grown up, but in many ways, I am still that kid who at the age of 16 was looking ahead at the future and wondering and dreaming. It’s been 40 years since that birthday. You can do the math, but I don’t feel like a 56 year-old, however a 56 year old should feel.

Age is a number and it’s temporary. I am constantly learning and growing, or I should be.

Yesterday, I slept late. It was nice to sleep past my normal weekday wake up time of 4:30 AM.

It’s Fall and the cold weather has zapped the trees and the fallen leaves have covered the lawn like a thick blanket with leaves sticking in the beds along the foundation and fences, wherever there might be a stopping point from the wind.

the yard before work began in earnest

The leaves are temporary. They sprout in the Spring and last until the Fall. The cycle is lasts a little less than 200 days from mid-April to early November, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter depending on the year. We have a couple of trees that are now leafless and several trees which are relentlessly holding on to their leaves. By the end of the month, the trees will release their grip and the leaves will fall to the ground.

Yesterday, we spent a couple of hours raking and bagging leaves in the yard as a family and one of O’s friends joined us. O and her friend worked hard and we were able to clean up the yard for the afternoon. O and her friend made raking leaves fun by playing in the leaf pile before bagging them. This morning, I looked out across the yard and I noticed new leaves covering the yard and the deck. Our job was only temporary, we’ll be back out in the yard next weekend, and the next weekend, until all of this year’s leaves are raked, bagged, and gone.

work AFTER we had raked and bagged the leaves

There are so many things in life that are temporary – leaves and birthdays are among them. It’s important to spend those temporary moments doing what is really important and that’s spending time with family.

Sunday means a new week and new chance at making a new start. Like the leaves and birthdays, a new week is temporary. It’s new for a week, then it’s old. A new week means new learning, new plans, and, lots of learning and growing.

the finished product – a temporary solution

It’s gonna be a great week and it’s gonna be great day, so I’d better get a jump start on the day and jump in, jump out, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day of raking leaves, a day celebrating a birthday, and one day at a time, because that’s how it rolls.

How will you spend a ‘temporary’ moment today or this week?

Today’s post is in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge: Temporary. For this week’s challenge, share a photo that says “temporary” to you. As always, you can take the theme in any direction you see fit — from the natural world to the human, and from the concrete to the abstract. I look forward to browsing your photos!

11 thoughts on “temporary: birthdays and fall leaves

  1. When we were kids on the South Side of Chicago, we would turn leaf raking (and burning) into an all-afternoon affair, with the culmination coming with the big bonfire at night. I guess you can’t do that anymore in the big cities, but folks here in SW Michigan still do. I love the smell of burning leaves. Brings back many happy memories of childhood. Thanks for the post.

    1. I apologize for the late response, time seems to have gotten away from me. My daughter still loves to play in the leaves…but we can’t burn them where we live. We just bag them and haul them to the curb where the refuse company turns them into mulch and sells it back to us in the spring. The neighborhood where I teach is across the street from an unincorporated part of Will County and they will burn leaves in the fall. The smell permeates the hallways in the afternoons. Memories. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the season. Peace.

    1. Mary, I apologize for the delay in my response. I saw it come in and I told myself I’d get to it and never did. Thanksgiving break is a bit slower, but time passes much quicker on break than it does normally, or so it seems. Thank you so much I always enjoy our visits. Enjoy your weekend and the season. Peace.

  2. Had a huge problem with wp, couldn’t ‘like’ nor comment. Now it works as before and I don’t know why either….
    Very best wishes – even though quite belated – for another year on this earth hopefully filled to the rim with blessings, graces, great experiences, happy school children and few ailments…. 🙂 Mine was in October and inside me, the old battleax also lives a young woman full of wonder and enjoying her special day every year very much. We might as well as we only live once!

    My ‘temporary’ experiences are covered by you. With 1150m2 of ground I shall be busy for a few more weeks with leaf raking, dead-heading hydrangeas, hopefully I’ll get a chance to cover some of the ground with bark to keep the soil warm and toasty, plus hopefully discourage the happily sprouting weeds a bit better under control. Then my other temporary doings include cooking, doing the dishes, the wash, the cleaning, the talking on phone and mail, the letter writing and soon, too soon, the Christmas card writing!

    1. Kiki – I apologize for the delay in my response. It seems over the past month time has not been mone – simply borrowed from others. between school and home it’s been hectic. I am glad I have thinking putty to experiment with a stretch and pull and release some energy. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the season. Peace.

    1. Thank you! If we don’t make time for the important things, we never will get the important things done. It seems I have been chasing my tail of late – we bagged another 25 bags of leaves and twigs on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The leaves are almost done. Another year is marching on! Saturday is off to an amazing start, Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the season. Peace.

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