Happy Halloween

I don't know what I did in some past life to deserve the great family I have. Or you know, maybe it's just having H1N1 or whatever this horrible illness is that brings on extreme guilt in my children, but check this out...

...right after they did homework and made lunch and right before they all went for flu shots, my boys picked the four little pumpkins growing in our gardens, and they carved them. The oldest even did some video magic so we could watch "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" while we carved, just like when they were little.

I am a lucky woman. I am gonna have to figure out how to get the flu EVERY year at Halloween.

It is funny though, this year when the boys were carving, and poor Charlie Brown was being bullied by all his friends, and I was picking through the guts for the pumpkin seeds, I had a vision. I remembered Halloweens from the middle years of our family when costumes were everything, and the "haul" of candy was extremely important. And I remembered the early years when cousins had to wash off the scary face paint so the littles woudn't be scared. And I remembered the years before kids when I would carve a pumpkin and yearn for the day I would be a mother.

Here we are, almost out the other end. For a couple of years now our kids have gone to a big Halloween party, and out with friends. They dress up like movie characters that make them look good (sorry kids, you know it's true!) and they are out until late at night.

It's almost here again, the days of carving a pumpkin by myself. But this end is so much better. This end holds the memories of my kids and the fabulous years of trick-or-treating, and negotiating about how much candy is too much, and carving the most amazing pumpkins. This end is good. I step into it with both feet and a big smile.

I really am a lucky woman. A really lucky one.