This is the pinnacle of all fall blogs. I’ve been saving this memory in my head for a while. It evokes so many great memories of my childhood home. I’m calling it “The Great Leaf Paths”

My sister Michelle and I were good friends with our next-door neighbors. Jan and I were close in age, just like Michelle and Gail. The four of us spent lots of time together when we were young. We did goofy things and laughed a lot, as kids growing up in the 70s should. Our address was 161. Their family lived at 151. 

Both our backyards had massive, gorgeous trees. Half of our backyard was considered “the woods”. When the air turned cool, nature’s paintbrush turned the leaves into a canvas of gorgeous colors. And it smelled like fall. The earthy scent of leaves ready to abandon the trees filled the air, along with acorns and crisp air. 

Practically overnight, the leaves would slowly spin from their branches and twirl to the ground. Dad and Mr. DuVall, Jan and Gail’s Dad, would spend many weekends with their rakes in hand, summoning their kids to get to work in the yard. Back then we didn’t have leaf blowers, fancy ergonomic rakes, or riding mowers. We had flimsy steel-pronged rakes. That’s it.

For years, we had our own agenda, which didn’t include raking all the leaves into the woods. We made leaf paths. Not just any leaf paths. Our paths spread from the sides of our yards to both our backyards. 

We made dead ends. We raked small piles of leaves to jump over to another set of mazes. Then we played tag in the huge trails we formed. It was such a blast! We ran along them for hours, shrieking in the sunshine that peeked through the trees above.

After a while, our Dads didn’t expect to see all the grass underneath the leaves in our backyards. Secretly, I think they enjoyed watching the pure joy a fall day could bring. 

Our leaf trails took days to perfect. The four of us hoped that a big overnight storm wouldn’t scatter our leaf trails and ruin all our hard work. I recall one of our best trail creations did survive for a decent amount of time. But all good things must come to an end.

Those days were the best of times. Some rakes and lots of leaves. But those simple things created more than cool leaf paths. We formed an unforgettable childhood friendship with our neighbors, Gail and Jan. I have countless memories and many stories yet to be told. 

Occasionally, a random memory pops into my head and makes me smile. That’s because only the four of us will understand its significance. Thanks for the “Great Leaf Paths”, to 151 from 161…