The Biggest Leaf Pile on Oak Street

We have four enormous oak trees in our yard. Every October, they drop what feels like a million leaves. This year, instead of bagging them, my husband had an idea.

We raked every leaf in the yard into one gigantic pile. Then our neighbors raked theirs over. Then the people across the street. By Saturday afternoon, the pile was taller than my husband and about twenty feet wide.

We invited every kid in the neighborhood. They came running from every direction. They jumped in it, buried each other, threw leaves in the air and made "leaf angels." A toddler fell asleep in it. The grandparents from the corner house brought hot apple cider in paper cups. Even a few of the adults jumped in, and we came out with leaves in our hair, our sweaters, our shoes.

We kept the pile all weekend. On Sunday evening, the kids lay on their backs in it and looked up at the bare branches against the pink sky. Then we bagged it all. It took four hours. It was worth every minute.