Halloween

It’s Halloween. I used to hate the holiday. When my kids were in preschool and elementary school, I swear, the holiday lasted the entire month. Even during middle school, the stress of finding the perfect costume and making the best plans started in September and drove me nuts.

But now my kids are in high school and for the first time, neither one is doing anything. One isn’t feeling well, the other just isn’t into it this year. They requested candy but without trick or treating, it’s no different from any other day (not that I buy them candy ever). It’s one of those “lasts” that make me realize how fast this year is slipping by and how many changes there will be next year.

I tried to force it this weekend with a trip to the pumpkin patch. I played the, “But it’s your last time at home and we need to pick out pumpkins together” card, and it only semi-worked. Like I said, one wasn’t feeling well and the other wasn’t into it. I got pictures, begrudgingly, only some of which I’m allowed to post.

We didn’t carve a jack-o-lantern. Instead, my husband did this:

I actually love it, but it’s different from previous years and I’m not sure I like “different.”

However, I think I’m learning that the times I’m going to like best are the ones I don’t force. The times when one goes upstairs to bed and comes down ten minutes later for “one last hug.” The giggles at the dinner table. The conversations that occur spur-of-the-moment. The little things that I notice while being present, rather than the big things that I set up and somehow don’t go as planned.

So yeah, my kids are probably too old for Halloween. And my giving them candy is really no different than any day of the year. And my husband was more into the pumpkin than they were. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed that somehow, at some point today, something is going to strike me and I’ll notice something sweet about the day.

And worst case, I’ll get the Reese’s all to myself.