Do you remember how much fun it was to jump in the leaves as a kid? Let me tell you a little secret … it’s just as fun when you’re an adult!

A few weeks ago, the kids were going stir crazy inside. So I dropped what I was doing (laundry and cleaning the kitchen) and decided to take them out to blow off some steam. At our new house we have two very large trees in our front and back yard. This equals an enormous amount of leaves in the fall. Leaves that my children have never experienced before.

We started by raking them up into a big pile. We used a combination of a rake, shovels and brooms. Note to self- get child size rakes by next fall. The boys worked hard – piling the leaves up high.

When I told them it was time to jump in they looked at me like I was nuts! “Mom, we just worked so hard to move the leaves in big pile, and now you want us to jump in it? and ruin all of our hard work? heck no!” Jaden was the first one to jump. Logan and Weston got upset because he was ruining the pile and spreading it all back out. I reassured them that they could play and then we would rake it back up into a big pile again. Once they got the hang of it, there were thousands of laughs and smiles. Time wasn’t a thought and we just played. Me included.

It was good old fashioned fun. No electronics, no fighting, no mess – just fun.  We played until we were tired. I didn’t tell them it was time to go inside, they asked me to go inside. As I single mom, I often feel like I don’t have the time or energy to do the fun stuff. I used to be the fun mom – letting the boys make a mess with popcorn because it was fun and there was always a vacuum. I was the mom that played as the dirty laundry piled up. The laundry still piles up but I feel like I’m missing out on my children.

So I encouraged my kids to play in the leaves … but the next time I played in the leaves WITH them.

I buried them in the leaves and I let them cover me too. I didn’t just watch my kids play, I played with them. That’s making memories … I’ve got to remember these moments … I want to be the mom that played WITH her children and not just the mom that had a clean house, laundry folded and watched as her children played. What kind of mom are you? But most importantly, what kind of mom do you want to be?

Love, Mel