Another fall, another Leaf Party has come and gone. Leaf Party X was our best so far, Jude and I agree. Saturday was absolutely gorgeous, with the temperature in the mid-50's (we'd been a little bit nervous about the weather, given that we hosted the party a couple of weeks later than normal) on a beautiful fall day in Nashville.
"Hurricane Baines" rolled in Friday night, although it was quickly downgraded to a tropical storm when Wolf and Scout stayed with friends in Franklin. We had pizza from Mello Mushroom, hung out for a while, then turned in for the night like the old folks we seem to have become. I laugh as I write this, because there was a time when I would have two coolers of beer iced down - one with Miller Lite (mine) and one with Bud Light (Troy's) - when the Baines arrived for the Leaf Party Weekend and Troy and I would stay up late, late, late on Friday night. Not anymore, though.
Saturday morning, Duane Pierce (J.P.'s gardening mentor and friend), arrived early to finish up the yard for us before the party. He blew the leaves in the front hard from our stately old maple tree into the shape of a heart, which was pretty cool. And, as usual, we busied ourselves with various tasks to get ready for the party - going to the grocery store for last minute supplies, icing down the beverages, cleaning up the yard, straightening up the house, etc. Everyone pitched in to help, even J.P. and Finn.
Soon enough, our guests began to arrive and the party was on full force. We had our biggest crowd ever. In the front yard, the kids laughed and screamed as they jumped in the leaves, make leaf piles, buried each other in the leaves and threw leaves on each other. In the back yard, some of the older kids played soccer. And, or course, kids ran in and out of the house to get food, juice boxes or use the bathroom. As always, three hours just flew by and before I knew it, people were leaving so they could put their kids down for naps.
As the party wound down and most people left, our good friends, Ann Marie, Rob and Ayden Elliott stayed and talked with Jude, Troy, Cyndi and me. I brought "the jawbone" out and turned on some music and the parents had a beer and talked quietly while we watched our children playing in the leaves in our front yard. If there are a few enduring memories I have of this wonderful house when we finally leave it to another family, one of them will be Leaf Party X's "after party," when I stood on my front porch with my friends, my dear friends, laughing and talking while our young children played together on a breathtakingly beautiful fall afternoon. I felt so content, so full of pride as I watched J.P. playing and looked at Jude holding Joey, talking to our friends, that a part of me wished I could freeze that moment in time, like a snapshot.
During the party, I had been tickled when Scout Baines sidled up to me and a little sheepishly asked, "can we still go on our 'secret walk' after the party, Uncle Phil?" I smiled and said, "you bet." The "secret walk" is a tradition I started years ago with Wolf and Scout and, every year, I fear they will have outgrown it. While everyone else naps, we go for a walk, play follow the leader then, on the way home, pretend like we're spies. For at least one more year, they wanted to go no the "secret walk." And we did.
Saturday night, Troy and I went to the Vandy-Tennessee at Dudley Field. For the first time in 30 years, Vandy beat Tennessee in Nashville. I was as unhappy as Troy was happy. Ironically, I was in at Dudley Field with my mom the last time Vandy beat the Vols in Nashville (I was 16 years old). I helped tear down the goal posts to celebrate. Um, not this time.
Sunday morning, Cyndi and I went for an awesome 4-mile run and met the rest of the gang at Bongo Java for breakfast. Then, it was back home so the Baines could pack up and hit the road, which they did all too soon. As we watched them drive away, we all felt the inevitable Sunday morning Leaf Party hangover, J.P. especially. With tears in his eyes, he looked up at us as we sat on the steps near the street and said, "I wish Finn could stay 3 more days." I looked at him, smiled, and said, "I do too, buddy. I do, too." Then I put my arm around him and we followed Jude and Joey up the steps and into the house.
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