Gray all day and then rain into the night. Light, steady rain that helps bring down the colorful leaves. On Sunday, under cerulean skies, diligent neighbors were outside collecting leaves. We weren’t so diligent, but I have a rationale (rationalization, perhaps). If you rake leaves on November 2, they’ll be more by November 9, and more still on the 16th. Best to wait.

Maybe in 20 or 30 years, raking leaves will be passé anyway. Leaves are just biomass nutrients for next year’s lawn, after all – which will be left uncut by right-thinking householders to save energy and encourage prairie restoration and wildflower cultivation to keep bees alive. I know I would skip lawn mowing if it meant saving the bees; I’m eco-minded that way.

Speaking of things that are passé, while digging through my desk recently – it often sports stacks of papers waiting for attention, because the only papers that need attention right away are slips payable to me, slips with information about how much I have to pay someone, and occasional personal letters or postcards – I found an early 2013-14 school year letter from Quincy Adams Wagstaff Elementary School.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Birthdays are important to children and we want our students to be recognized on their special days…. Due to the rise in food allergies nationwide, and to promote healthy dietary choices and dental health, your child will be allowed to bring non-edible [their emphasis] birthday treats only…

The days of buying doughnuts for your kid’s class, in other words, are over. I don’t remember that we were entirely consistent about that, but during Lilly’s time at the school, and at least once for Ann, I remember going to our local doughnut shop early and getting three dozen doughnuts for the class: a mix of glazed and chocolate frosted, I think.

The letter continues —

Some ideas include:

Stickers

Bookmarks

Pencils/erasers

Fun items found at dollar stores

Donating a book to the classroom library in honor of your child

We are confident that these types of fun items will be just as enjoyable for classmates to receive on your child’s birthday…

Signed, the principal and the school nurse.

I’m not confident stickers or pencils or especially a donated book will go down as well as doughnuts, but I’m also slow when it comes to the latest in child psychology. Come to think of it, trading cards might be just the thing if they were along the lines of the perfectly juvenile Wacky Packages. I remember a few of these from junior high, even though I never bought any myself.