It was one of those crazy, stressful days when my son begged me to take him to the pumpkin patch and spend some time with him. I was sitting at the dining room table trying to get a deadline in for the law firm I was working for. I was only an intern and barely making enough money to pay the bills. This job was important to me and I couldn't have anyone bothering me. It was difficult being a single mom.
"Mommy, please!" He frowned. "I want to go. Can we go to the pumpkin patch? I really want a new pumpkin for this year. Sophia said her dad made her a Minion pumpkin... I want you to help me make a Minion pumpkin too, please? Pretty pretty please with a cherry on top? I'll be good this year, I promise!"
"Why don't we walk around the yard for a while?" 803Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZZs7vhPr9
I needed to get rid of the stress from all of the paperwork anyway. We walked to the backyard and I was grateful to have had an open yard like ours. It was one of the perks of life in the country. Autumn in my backyard was like magic. As we walked hand in hand, I felt the crisp wind as it blew across my face. Leaves fell one by one. The ones already fallen whirled in the rhythm of the wind, dancing around our feet. Dawson was enchanted with this and began picking up leaves of all sorts of colors. He smiled as he looked up at me, with his childlike blue eyes. 803Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnDK9aNrCZ
"Why are they so beautiful?"
I pondered for a moment, thinking of what the season meant to me. I had never paid much attention to it before this point. "I suppose the leaves are beautiful because it's their gift to the world. After giving us so much during Spring and Summer, they want to let us know how much they respect us." 803Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBB0Sc5DJPz
"Really?"
"Yes, really," I said. I didn't want to get too scientific with my boy. He wouldn't have understood the concept of chlorophyll and the different pigment names for the leaves.
We walked under a maple tree whose branches were almost completely bare. Dawson dove into the leaves and laid down on his back, looking up at the sky. He picked up the deep scarlet leaves, throwing them in the air.
"Mommy, it's snowing leaves!" He laughed.
I couldn't help but smile. It was so wonderful seeing my son so happy. How much had I missed of him, having been so tied up with my paperwork? In him, I saw the innocence and even the wisdom of Autumn. My heart broke when I realized that I hardly knew Dawson at all. I knew as I joined him and laid down next to my baby boy that things were going to be different now. I was going to take him to the pumpkin patch like he wanted and we were going to carve a pumpkin together. I was going to be the mother he needed.
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