This is the first year I didn’t have a child charge into my freshly rake leaf pile. It has been one of the truly joyous activities for me. I don’t remember ever being allowed to jump into my parent's hard work. As a kid I remembered seeing the images of kids jumping into the piles, thinking that just once I would liked to do that. So, we have pictures of my oldest son at twenty months learning how to jump into a leaf pile. Pictures and memories for every year until this one.

Now the tears are rolling gently down my cheeks. I know their growing up is a good thing. I will miss “Just fix the pile one more time, Mommy!” Of course, it was always twenty or thirty times before we called it a day.

Christmas time is changing for us as well. I no longer need to scan the ads for toys. We have a house full of them but their taste are evolving into to that of preteen and young teen taste. No more Barney, trains, dolls. Hello laptops, mp3, and Taylor Swift. There is a part of me that is sad but the biggest part is hoping for less toys to step on.

The holiday season has always been very important time in my life. The passage of time will probably be more noticeable at this time a year than any other.