We’re supposed to get our first snow tonight, which means the leaves in our yard needed to be dealt with. We’d already spent a good chunk of time raking last Saturday, but the leaves just kept falling. Due to the time crunch, I bundled Cooper up like that kid in A Christmas Story and we headed out into the yard.

For the first little while Cooper thankfully took a nap in his stroller, until loud expletives started coming from the neighbor’s yard. I don’t know why this is, but it seems like whenever I’m overhearing an angry conversation all I can make out are the cuss words. Everything else is garbled which makes it difficult to know whether it’s a situation that needs the attention of the police or whether the person is just having car trouble. Cooper can sleep through a lot of things (the noise from high school marching bands, riding lawn mowers, and trains to name a few), but he seems especially sensitive to raised voices. Sometimes when Noel and I are recounting a story about how someone cut us off in traffic, Cooper will furrow his eyebrows and scrunch his nose as his lip starts to quiver. It’s both sad and adorable. Needless to say, Cooper woke up and I refrained from yelling some of my own thoughts back over the fence.

From start to finish (including Cooper requested time-outs) the whole ordeal took about 4 hours and I filled 3 1/2 garbage cans full of compacted leaves. I rarely say this, but if it doesn’t snow tonight I am going to be pretty disappointed.