This week has been exhausting. On top of all the cross training I’ve been doing, I’ve been raking leaves like none other. Raking leaves, a lot like shoveling snow, is a lot harder than one may think! What are some leaves here and there, right? Wrong. When you basically live in the forest and there’s nothing but leaves, raking is a crazy hard workout.
Which is a nice lead-in to today’s Friday Five linkup topic: 5 things I love. I don’t love raking leaves, let’s just put that right out there. But here are some things I do love:
1. The smell and sound of crispy, fall leaves.
There’s just something about ’em. The smell and the sounds coming from those crispy, dried out leaves crunching underfoot just sends me right back to my childhood. I spent many a day collecting up the fallen autumn leaves with my dad. Everyone else on the street seemed to use a rake, but my dad had this fancy leaf collector (https://thebestleafblowers.com/worx-leaf-collection-system/) which made making a big pile of the leaves really easy. I used to LOVE jumping in and rolling around in them.
2. A spontaneous campfire — on a school night!
I can just hear my mother now: “It’s a school night!” That was something I heard often growing up. But there’s nothing like taking advantage of unseasonably warm fall weather and toasting a marshmallow before bed. And hey, my kids slept like rocks so maybe there’s something to this spontaneity thing.
3. Sunrises. And sunsets!
I’m a morning runner. There’s nothing more beautiful and rewarding than waking up with the world and witnessing a breathtaking sunrise.
But staying out in the afternoons and playing outside with my kids as the days are getting shorter has made me appreciate the beauty of sunsets as well. To piggyback on #2 above, I’m not a spontaneous person. I’m usually making dinner by 4:45 for us to be eating dinner no later than 6. But there’s something about taking time to sloooooow down that has made me lax in my ways. Lately we haven’t even been inside until almost 6:00. Just enough time to see the sun sinking below the horizon and getting dinner on the table before bed.
4. My incredible human body.
It wasn’t but a few days ago that I was lamenting the end of my running career. And now here I am, feeling better than ever and possibly more active than ever as well. The human body is an amazing, glorious machine. It moves us through life, it allows us to do amazing things with our brains, our legs and feet, and our arms and hands. It grows and changes shape, all the while carrying us around on this magnificent planet.
5. My family.
What would I do without these weird people invading my home? I would live one boring life, that’s for sure. I would have no one to sing to, I would have no one to tickle. And I would have no one to take silly-face selfies with. ??????
What are some things you love? Give me two!
xo
