It was the day after Thanksgiving and I was trying to work off ten pounds of turkey, potatoes, and pumpkin pie by raking up the leaves around my daughter’s house. She had a matronly maple tree in her front yard and her back yard was surrounded by stately oak trees, so when I walked through them the leaves were ankle deep. I got the old wooden rake out of her shed and got to work. I could tell that I had waited too long to start because under the dry upper layer was moldy, slimy leaves that had already started to decompose.
I raked steadily on in the cold air. It was only in the 30’s and I could feel the chill on my cheeks as I slowly raked the leaves into little piles. Next I raked those leaves into bigger piles and moved them towards the edge of the hill that dropped off behind the storage shed. By the time I was done I had two, huge, chest high piles of leaves on either side of the shed. I saw that a few branches from the oaks had broken off and were blocking my path so I pushed them until they slid down the hill and into a ravine. Then I turned to the leaves. The piles looked massive and immoveable and I was already tired from raking for almost an hour. Suddenly, however, the ten year old that still lives inside of me came out. With the rake held like a sword I charged.
“YEE HAW!”, I yelled as I plowed into the leaves pushing them over the hill with me sliding down behind them. I laughed as I climbed up the hill and then attacked the second pile with equal enthusiasm. I felt like a boy again jumping into a pile of leaves and it was so much fun after all that work. I walked happily back home with a big smile on my face.
This life is full of adult responsibilities but it is also full of childlike joys. We shouldn’t give up the second just because we have to do the first. Remember, we are all God’s Children. We should do our best then to live our lives with a child’s wonder, happiness, and love.
By: Joseph J. Mazzella