The Crunch Beneath My Feet. . .

When I was little girl, we lived in Memphis for two years, Germantown, to be exact. And, the neighborhood we lived in was very pretty. There were lots of large southern style homes with yards covered in big trees. And, it was during these two years living in this neighborhood that I discovered my two favorite sounds.

The first is the sound of horse hooves on concrete. If you haven't heard it, buy a horse. It would totally be worth it, well maybe. . .

Anyway, I was at a birthday party about 3 houses down from my home, and it was at this party that I first heard this wonderful sound. The parents of my friend rented a horse for her party, and we all took turns riding the horse up and down their driveway. I fell in love, not with the large beautiful animal, but rather with the clip clop of his feet. . .

The second sound that I adore is the sound of autumn leaves crunching under my feet. I am so silly, even though it was over twenty years ago, I still remember the day, the very day that the beauty of this sound first occurred to me. It was overcast and chilly, and I was walking to a friend's home in a cove just down the street. Leaves covered the sides of the road. I remember purposefully stepping on the leaves just so I could hear them crackle and crunch beneath my shoes. It was then that I decided fall was, hands down, my favorite season.

Fast forward 20 some-odd years. . .

Yesterday JCT and I took Rain out for his midday potty break. It was a sunny day with a cool breeze blowing. We held hands and walked slowly from the house to the road. Leaves covered the sides of the road. So, I did what I always do when I see leaves in the road ~ I stepped on them so that I could hear their crunch.

I asked JCT, "Did you hear that?" And, he looked up at me confused, "What?" "Listen, " I implored him, and then stepped purposefully on a dry brown leaf. "What sound did that leaf make?" I asked him. "A ccccrrrruuunnchhhhhhy sound," he answered smiling as he looked in front of his feet carefully for a leaf to step on. We spent the rest of Rain's potty break taking turns stepping on leaves and listening to them crackle and crunch beneath our shoes.

I loved every moment of it. I love JCT, and I love the sound of crunching leaves. It was such a joy to share one of my favorite sounds with him. It may be silly, but the memory of the two of us holding hands and crunching leaves under our feet is precious to me. Perfectly precious. You simply cannot buy memories like that. They are worth far more than money!