It began 10 or so years ago, as a party in honor of our friends, Troy and Cyndi Baines, who had recently moved back home to Florida. Jude and I convinced them to return with the kids (Wolf and Scout) to Nashville for a weekend in the fall. We thought it would be cool to host a party at our house while they were here and invite a lot of their (and our) friends to attend. We also thought it would be fund for the kids to have a chance to play in the leaves that had fallen from the beautiful, stately maple tree in our front yard.
And just like that, the World Famous Leaf Party was born.
We've hosted the Leaf Party every year since then. The faces of the attendees have changed over the years, as some kids have aged out or families have moved away. Year in and year out, though, Troy, Cyndi, Wolf, Scout and Finn have continued to pile in the car and drive to Nashville, then pile in our house for the weekend. It's chaotic and a bit crazy and I wouldn't have it any other way.
We've watched Wolf and Scout grow from toddlers, really, wearing Halloween costumes and playing in the leaves to teenagers (Wolf) and pre-teenagers (Scout) texting on their iPhones. We've watched with unbridled joy as our son, J.P., and Finn played together developed a real friendship. And for the last couple years, we've watched Joe toddle along behind all of them.
Every year, we look forward to "Hurricane Baines" arrival, then we're sad when the weekend is over all too soon. And this year was no different.
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Friday, much to my chagrin, I got stuck mediating a case at work and didn't finish until almost 9 p.m. The Baines' clan arrived Friday afternoon, so I missed dinner. When I got home, everyone was already in bed. I unloaded my Yukon and packed the coolers with beer and ice while everyone slept. I got to bed about midnight, looking forward to the Leaf Party the next morning.
Saturday morning, J.P. and Finn awoke early from their sleeping spot on the floor at the foot of J.P.'s bed, cuddled up in sleeping bags laid on top of quilts and blankets. It looked terribly uncomfortable to me, but they didn't mind a bit. We ate breakfast, then drove to J.P.'s basketball game at First Presbyterian Church. It was cool for him to have a such a big cheering section, as my sister, Tracy, and her kids, Kaitlyn and Matthew, came to the game, along with Jude's folks and the Baines.
After the game, we beat feet home to start the party. Duane Pierce, who has done our yard work for years, had blown the leaves up in a giant pile in the middle of the front yard. Guests began arriving right at 11 a.m., including several members of J.P.'s basketball team and their parents. As always, the kids loved, loved, loved playing in the leaves. While the parents socialized on the front porch, the kids ran, danced and wrestled in the leaves, laughing the entire time. In our back yard, some of the younger kids played in the sandbox. It was damn near a perfect day.
After the party wound down in the mid-afternoon and it was time for Joe's (and Jude's) nap, I went for a walk with Wolf, Scout, Finn and J.P. It's a tradition Wolf, Scout and I started years ago, one we dubbed "the secret walk," as we used to walk to Bongo Java through alleys, pretending we were spies hiding from the enemy all the way there and back. It's always been special to me, because it's my time to spend with the kids alone and catch up on how they're doing.
This time, we talked to Bongo Java, where we ordered hot chocolate and, of course, a Mood Elevator for me, then sat upstairs in my "annex office," while we drank our drinks. Next, we walked down to an apartment complex on Belmont Blvd. that has a large swath of green space out front. We threw the frisbee, then played a spirited game of touch football. Wolf, Finn and J.P. scored late to beat Scout and me. It was pretty awesome.
We walked through Belmont U. on the way home, then pretended we were hiding from "alley zombies" as dusk turned to darkness and we walked down the alleys toward home. Finn and J.P. squealed every time Wolf jumped out from behind a garbage can or tree in an alley and pretended to be a zombie.
Last night, Troy and I picked up pizzas from Mellow Mushroom, and the gang watched UT lose to Missouri before we turned in early.
This morning, Cyndi went for an early morning run. We met her at Bongo Java for a family breakfast. Fortunately, Bongo Java wasn't crowded and we all sat around the big table and drank coffee, ate, talked and laughed. J.P. and Finn sat next to us at "the kids' table."
Then, it was back home, where Wolf had to climb over over our privacy fence and use our ladder to reach our bathroom window, so he could climb through and let us in the side door. The lock on our front door was broken, so Wolf saved the day, for sure.
A little while later, the Baines packed, loaded the car and drove down Elliott Avenue, on the way home to Neptune Beach, FL. Jude, J.P., Joe and I waved as they pulled away, another Leaf Party weekend in the books.
2 or 3 times today, as we watched football and hung around the house, J.P. said, "I'm kind of sad the weekend is over and the Baines are gone."
Yep, me too.
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