Autumn Leaves...Endless Raking

 The beautiful, colorful fall season is so pretty in real life and in pictures. We're blessed with huge old maple trees all around our house. Simply gorgeous. For several weeks. Then the wind and rain drives the leaves to the ground, and somebody's got to get them off the grass. Me. And Tom. But he's busy doing things I can't do...so mostly it's me.

I feel overwhelmed when I start the leaf mulching, raking, hauling (or, shhhhh, don't tell the environmentalists, burning) process. It takes about three sessions. I've tried waiting until all of the leaves are off the trees so the job could be done in one session. Hah...then it's dang near impossible.

At the start I attack the job with vigor. Then alas, the energy flags, my back aches, I can't see what I've accomplished, only what's still to be done. I won't quit, can't quit, I just want the job finished. Tom comes to my rescue and talks me into a sensible stopping point. We sit on the porch swing and drink in the view. A lawn (nearly) swept clean of leaves. Ahhhh, what a sense of accomplishment. Life is good again. Not perfect, but good.