A one-leaf fall

Nykerk Music Hall, Hope College

My leaf!

After living in Western Washington, land of soggy Octobers/Novembers for 18 years, I was in awe of every leaf I saw in Michigan.  Hope College, in Holland, MI, has a beautiful campus, especially in the fall.  I never got tired of crunchy, crisp, dry, gorgeous leaves during my four fabulous falls at Hope.  Growing up, I was a voracious reader (and still am), and it always annoyed me to read about people tromping through piles of noisy leaves.  Leaves were soggy things in my mind, burdened by slugs and pine needles mounding on top of them.  And then I went to Michigan and realized that all those authors didn't lie - fall is an amazing season, and you don't have to drown in puddles or slip on slug slime and disintegrating leaves during it.

In fact, back in the fall of 2000 I found the leaves around Hope to be so pretty that I collected quite a few of them.  I carefully transported them back to my dorm room and pressed them in books.  They were fun surprises to discover in random books for a few years after that.

Last week Zarya was doing her usual dining room bookshelf rearrangement routine while I was in the kitchen.  I heard the books come down and so went to go try to put them back on the shelf.  Imagine my surprise when I found a leaf on the floor next to my concordance!  I immediately knew it was one of my fall 2000 Hope leaves, since those were the only ones I ever collected.  My little leaf had survived for twelve years and had traveled the world!  It looked perfect.  It was the beginning of October, just the right time to find a fall leaf, too.  I carefully picked it up and set it up high, well out of Zarya's reach, and admired it for a week.

And then I started to wonder, what does one do with an antique leaf?  I mean, I couldn't throw it away!  I considered putting it back in my concordance, but hiding it away again didn't really appeal to me.  Then it came to me - share the love!  I transported my precious leaf, the only one of the fall this year in Musoma, to another Holland, MI, family here in Musoma.  That lovely leaf is now displayed in their house, bringing some fall cheer to folks far away from fall leaves - far away from all but one, that is!