A Watched Leaf

October 5, 2023

A watched maple tree never bursts into color.

When I was growing up in Cranford, NJ, I was a big leaf-pile jumper: I didn't consider fall really to have arrived until the silver maple in my front yard turned yellow and dropped its leaves into rake-able piles. The only problem was that mine was always the last tree in the neighborhood to turn, and so it would be a full month between when the calendar said it was fall and when my own personal fall season actually arrived. A month is forever as far as a 6-year-old is concerned. But nowadays, if I'm not careful, I will blink, and it will be Thanksgiving.

How can we grownups simultaneously slow down time for ourselves and make the fall season vivid for our kids, no matter where we live? The answer is simple, really: PLAN! Don't just let the season happen, or it will be over before you've done anything. Planning gives you something to look forward to, which both helps slow down time for adults and builds up anticipation for kids.

So when you're looking at the KidsOutAndAbout.com calendar, don't just check out this weekend's events, look at the next weekend's, too! Plan to head to the farm for some traditional fall activities, like a corn maze, pumpkin patch, or, if you're lucky enough to live near an orchard whose apple blossoms didn't freeze this past May, apple picking. Plan your Halloween activities, too, and talk them up in advance! To help you do all that, here is KidsOutAndAbout's Master Guide to Local Fall Fun, which has seemingly endless lists of where to go and what to do. Bookmark it, show it to your kids, forward it to friends, and make plans to celebrate the season together.

Of course, if you're lucky enough to live where a maple tree is handy, watch it! Time will slow down. Trust me.

—Deb