The Secret Reason Why I Never Used To Like Leaves And Its Shocking Connection To My Family!

I’m awfully fond of leaves turning lovely shades of autumnal color — I’ve done a pretty lousy job of hiding that fact. But I haven’t always been a fan of leaves; neither have the other Lanier sisters, and with good reason.

As kids, my siblings and I would enjoy taking long walks with our grandmother through the neighborhood, admiring the beautiful houses and gardens. We loved this time together as a family, but little did we know that those seemingly harmless leaves would become the bane of our existence.

The problem started when our grandmother, who was always particular about her garden, tasked us with raking leaves from her lawn. This wouldn’t have been an issue if the leaves had been wet and soggy, but no, these leaves had to be crunchy and annoying. Every time we tried to rake them up, they would scatter in the wind, making our task impossible.

But that wasn’t even the worst part. As little girls, we had a terrible fear of bugs and spiders. One autumn afternoon, my sister Pattie found herself face to face with her worst nightmare — a gigantic spider hiding behind a crunchy leaf. The spider scared her so much that we never saw her the same way again.

That experience created a phobia of leaves in all of us, a phobia that took years to overcome. As we grew older, we started appreciating the beauty of leaves and their significance to our environment. We learned to respect the role they play in our ecosystem and began seeing them as more than just annoying crunchy things.

But even though I’ve grown to love leaves and everything they have to offer, I still have a lingering fear of spiders, especially those that come with crunching leaves. It reminds me of my grandmother, the beautiful walks we took together, and the fear that she inadvertently created in us.

I still remember how much my siblings and I dreaded raking those leaves every autumn. But now, I see it as a chance to go down memory lane, remembering the fun times and the not-so-fun times with my family.

The falling leaves have become a symbol of love, family, and the struggles we overcame as children. Today, as I walk through the neighborhood and watch the leaves turn those lovely shades of autumnal color, I remember Pattie, my sister who never feared her shadow, but let one incident take over her life, and my grandmother, who unknowingly scared the living daylights out of us.

The little painful memories in the family are many, but such memories make life interesting and shape who we become today.