I am a journal teacher. I taught creative and healing journal classes for decades. One of the most powerful exercises is “I remember…” and there are few things more evocative for me than the memories of leaves in the fall. I have been trying to find the perfect picture all morning and I couldn’t find it. What I wanted was a picture of a pile of leaves burning. People don’t do that anymore, but when I was young the smell of burning leaves was one of those things that was just part of autumn and you could walk through your neighborhood and see piles of leaves burning in nearly every yard at some time in the fall. I loved that smell and I miss it. I think of it every autumn. And collecting beautiful leaves in bright reds and golds and oranges and putting them between the pages of books, the crunch of leaves underfoot, jumping into a pile of leaves, and did you ever wax the leaves so their colors would last and last? Did you walk with a special someone in the autumn with leaves falling and beautiful colors everywhere, and how did it make you feel? What are your special memories of leaves in the autumn? Tell me everything in the comments below here on the blog.
I have decided that as this experiment is a year long journey some days I would just invite you to write your memories here, to get in touch with those things perhaps long forgotten that might move you and bring back sweet memories of the golden autumns of your youth. And, if you live some place where there are no fall leaves, because of climate, or in the part of the world where you live there aren’t deciduous trees, tell me what autumn was like where you were, what were your memories of autumn? And feel free to pick up other thoughts as they arise. Walking outside and smelling your mother’s apple pie baking through an open window, raking leaves with your father, the dog jumping in the leaves, how your grandmother would stand on the porch looking melancholy and a little misty-eyed remembering her own youth. Include it all. (Not to mention things like loving the smells and memories of autumn because you know it’s time for Pumpkin Spice lattes, pumpkin pie, pumpkins and gourds on front porches…) Give me everything! Give me your memories of autumn. You can use the falling leaves as a jumping off place into your store of memories of autumn and record everything you can remember that made you happy. I’d really love to hear from you. I’d really love to know how it was for you.
May Autumn Blessings and Sweet Memories Be Yours…
The Experiment ~A 365 Day Search For Truth, Beauty &
Happiness: Day 1 ~ Introduction To The Project
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
Yoda
I remember playing in piles of leaves. And I also remember how my mothers aunt told me not to do that, because it could make you ill. Two of her younger sister died from diphtheria when they were very young – and according to the aunt it was the leaves that made them sick.
Margaretha
Oh gracious Margaretha! What a way to scare a child to death! Everyone I know played in the leaves, jumping into piles, collecting them, and more, and never got sick. I think that was a fear based idea, understandable if your mother’s aunt was trying to make sense of the loss of her sisters but I doubt anyone ever died from leaves unless there were very special circumstances, at least I hope not!
Do you have the leaves changing colors in Sweden? I wonder what it is like there in the fall? Sending you love, I’m off on my way to therapy! *3 kisses* 🙂
Well, I’m sure that aunt Signe believed her sisters got sick from playing with the leaves – and she was very concerned that I should catch something deadly. But Barbro knew that it wasn’t dangerous and let me play.
Yes, or leaves change colors even if the colors are not quite as vivid as in eastern USA.
3 kisses!
Ah I’m so glad that Barbro let you play in the leaves, and I imagine things to be so beautiful is Sweden, just the changing of the leaves at all is lovely. Here, on the coast of NC it stays warm for so long it’s like our leaves are their regular green color and then they die and fall to the ground. Sigh, I miss the beautiful fall colors as it was in the midwest when I was growing up. Makes me quite nostalgic to think of it… 🙂
Autumn: remembering back to school Turning over a new leaf!
crisp days and nights, bright stars
crunching leaves underfoot
a quilt at night!
wearing flannel!
fiery colors in the trees
autumn haiku
xo
ka
Oh that’s lovely Ka, I can just see the colors in your words. Don’t you miss the crisp autumn living in Florida? It’s too warm here for me, we don’t get 4 real full seasons and most of the time we can get by with a sweater in December! But I REALLY miss snow. I do so miss Roanoke and the mountains, but I couldn’t go back there now, it’s been 25 years since we left. The Roanoke I loved — meaning the people and what we were all doing then — doesn’t exist anymore. But life goes on, and here I am having just had a wonderful night with my daughter — Rachel brought homemade soup and we watched some special shows that we like, and my little pugs are here, and life goes on, doesn’t it? I love you sweet Ka, I’m glad that we shared time together in Roanoke even though we are in very different places now. It was a lovely time…
Collecting autumn leaves, nuts and berries for the nature table at school… Frosty mornings, autumn mist, and the warm, nutty scent from fallen leaves… I remember autumn bonfires like you, Maitri, and the fragrance of woodsmoke lingering in my hair. Lovely memories.
Oh Jenny what a lovely picture you paint, and oh how I miss those frosty, crisp mornings. It stays warm here so long on the coast of NC. I feel much better in cooler weather. But ah those nature tables in school and bonfires! Oh my, and I remember making smores around campfires after hayrides in autumn. Lovely memories indeed. Thank you so much for sharing them with me… 🙂
I was 7 years old, at the end of an elementary school day, in the middle of fall. Add to this, the school was an old, beloved brick building that I adored. I was going to the front to wait for my mother, kind of sad because I was a bit of a natural loner and didn’t have many friends. I also loved mysterious, haunted ideas, books. I rounded a corner, the side doors suddenly blew open in front of me and this absolute mass and whirling frenzy of the most colorful, beautiful leaves imaginable Burst through the door. I remember I was the only kid standing there in awe, gasping in emotion at the site, wondering what everyone else could be looking at. A simple thing, that obviously has stayed in my heart.
Oh Jill, what a marvelous memory! You had me on the edge of my seat. It should be a scene in a book! 😀 “I loved mysterious, haunted ideas…” Tell me more! This is so wonderful! Thank you so much for coming here and leaving your wonderful post. I hope you come back again soon, I’d love to hear more!