I am not a Pumpkin Head

I love, love, love Halloween. Orange is one my favorite colors and everybody looks good in black, so what is not to love? Usually this time of year I am setting up the yard for the trick-or-treaters. Ghosts are placed, tomb stones cover the yard, gallons of fake blood are dripped over the scene, and motion sensor goblins are screaming into the dark. I have black lights, strobe lights and sound effects that can be heard down the street. I spend hours and hours covering every tree and bush with cob webs. Dead bodies stick out trash cans and shrubs, skeletons are hung, and jack-o-lanterns are carved. By now all the heavy lifting is done and I would spend the evenings admiring my handy work. But not this year.

Because of life or something like it, I just don't have the time to celebrate Halloween like I normally do. The kids will all be away, and I don't have the time or the energy to do it. I am usually picking cobwebs off of plants well into the Christmas season. The thought of more work on top of my already very full plate has caused me to opt out this year. I am not even sure I will turn on the light this year. I guess, it is just as well the kids get used to us being gone from this house. Next year we, hopefully, will be decorating our new house with all my gory guys.

I am leaving a window open for me to do some last minute decorating if I have a change of heart. Although, I seriously doubt that will happen, you just never know. I am a little sad and a more relieved that I don't have to lug around heavy containers filled to the brim, trying to change every inch of our landscape. With all the other house stuff going on, instead of fun, it just sounds exhausting.

The good news is on November 1st, I will be enjoying a lovely Sunday, rather than peeling guts off of trees. I will miss not having Halloween around the house this year, but I knew the day was coming when all the kids would be gone and I would have to decide if it was worth the effort without them here. Right now, it's not. For me, this is more about watching my little ones fly the coop. I had a really good run with my kids. I celebrated holidays fully, cooked for hours and sewed costumes well into the night. Every time I think of them at Halloween, I laugh. We all had a great time. I thought originally it was celebrating Halloween I missed, but it turned out what I missed was celebrating with my kids.

Next year I will be back at decorating our new house from stem to stern with every type of scary Halloween ghost I can find, buying candy, smearing blood and staging dead bodies.

Next year, when things settle down, I will do it just for me.

Happy Halloween!