Leaves

"mom! i'm home! and guess what!? you know that pile of leaves you left outside? i jumped in it! it was so fun!" she said, as she came running into the room.
"i'm glad you enjoyed it. do you want to go out and play in them more? i'll even come with?"
"yeah!"
i turned off my computer, and we went outside. it was a beautiful day. not to hot, not to cold. just warm enough that we could be comfortable with short sleeves, and no jacket or sweater. suddenly, my mind began to race. why was i doing this? she had homework, i needed to start dinner. more importantly, we were both getting over bad colds, and it was sure to get cold out here. why hadnt we worn jackets?
"common mom! lets go!" she said, practicly dragging me out of the house.
she started to rake up the leaves, and we jumped in them. she did it again. we fought with the leaves, having "confetti" wars. we chased each other, and tried to get leaves all over each other. we burried each other.
suddenly, nothing else mattered. it was just me and her. and the leaves. we played for hours. never tiring, not noticing that the sun was going down. all that mattered was us. me and her. we were actually doing something, and it wasnt me telling her that she needed to do this, or go do that, or eat your dinner, there wont be any food 'til breakfast. all that mattered was that we were having fun...together.
eventually, after many times of pretending to be a bear, hibernating in the leaves, and being leaf monsters jumping out to attack each other, and chasing each other around the yard for hours, the leaves were in the garden, and there was nothing else to do, but to go inside, and to remember. it was rare the days like this, and i hoped that she would remember this, above everything else.