From Autumn Projects to Personal Passions
Seasons change, and so do our collections. For individuals in Chevy Chase and beyond, this reflection traces the journey from childhood leaf books to adult brooches, and how memory, nature, and personal style intertwine.
Remember elementary school. Those first few grades were the place where you were to acquire the basics necessary for being a viable, functional person in the world you were born in—or in the world at large, eventually.
Remember the fall project of collecting leaves? The assignment was to travel throughout your neighborhood and collect leaf samples. Then, you were to paste them into the pages of a book and mark them with details about the tree from which they came. It was tactile, seasonal, and surprisingly scientific.
I love the fall, though I wonder where it has gone. We are about to head into October, and the temperature today is 70 degrees, with humidity that is giving the temperature a run for its money. Yesterday, it reached a high of nearly 90 degrees with torrential rain. For a moment, I thought the tropics had descended on us and we were doomed.
The leaves on every tree in the neighborhood are still bright green with no sign of changing.
I remember raking leaves as a kid and creating giant piles that my dad would burn in the alley. That was tons of fun as you could watch individual flaming leaves float up into the sky. Of course, cities all over the country banned leaf burning long ago, and that is probably a good thing, as some of those flaming wind chimes could have menaced the neighbor’s house.
Now, the menace takes an entirely different form as the leaves are blown about by giant gas-powered leaf blowers that drone on hour after hour. Our neighborhood, like some others, has decided to ban these gas-guzzling noise machines on the weekend. Thank you, neighborhood association!
Do children still have to do leaf collections? I have no idea. I suppose they do not, though I imagine some children with a penchant for the outdoors might take this on as a personal challenge or a special school project.
My association with collecting leaves has evolved into a passion for collecting brooches. You know, those fancy pins that women wear and collect. Remember how Madeleine Albright used brooches as a diplomatic tool? Some of her ideas were downright aggressive. She used her jewelry to “school” others in her views. Who knew jewelry could be so powerful?
My jewelry will never have that kind of impact. At the same time, I love the compliments I get when the polished gold leaf or the bejeweled little Japanese bonsai pin gets noticed.
Want to explore how collecting connects to memory and identity? Visit Psychology Today’s article on why we collect and NPR’s feature on Madeleine Albright’s brooch diplomacy.
If you’re reflecting on nostalgia, personal meaning, or emotional expression, therapy can help. Learn more about individual therapy in Maryland and DC or explore therapeutic approaches that support clarity, creativity, and connection.
By Dr. Gloria K Vanderhorst
