Husband and I picked out our pumpkins [which somehow I manage to always pronounce pun-kin]. One big, round orange palate for each of us to carve into frowny or smiley illuminations. I even picked out an extra one that was grayish-green and technically a gourd not a pumpkin, and as we loaded our groceries and round fruit of an annual vine into the car, I began to get excited.
Me:I love fall and Halloween! When we have a kid I am going to dress them in cute orange and black jumpers that say things like “I love my mummy” every day of the month. We will go to the pumpkin patch and make costumes and decorate the house. I can’t wait!
Husband: You’re going to be bummed when our kids don’t like Halloween as much as you do.
Somehow I'm not worried. That’s thing about loving your kids, if you make something a memory - it will be special forever. When I was a little girl, my mom would stay up nights before Valentine’s Day making homemade chocolate hearts and lollipops . She would carefully wrap them in pink, red and silver foils and on Feb. 14th we each woke up to a basket of goodies, handmade with love. My dad would put a rose on my bed with a note written in his own scribbly font that said, “You’ll always be my little valentine." Those moments became memories and years later, I realized that my parents put Valentine's Day on the map for me, in a special way that no boy could ever match.
Last night, Husband and I picked out the pumpkins as part of our tradition. Building traditions, even just the two of us, gives me a glimpse of how amazing our life and family will be. Since we bought our house, Halloween has been a special time for us. We decorate our front porch into a scary, spooky wonderland that has left many a princess crying in the driveway. We think up silly costumes and hand out candy to every goblin on the block. Just before beggars night, we choose pumpkins and invite friends over. BYOP - Bring Your Own Pumpkin Party, as we like to call it. On pumpkin night, we simmer a big pot of cider spiked with dark rum and all of the best spices. We each carefully plan out our carving masterpiece and share knives around the plastic-covered table. We toast the pumpkin seeds with garlic salt and a hint of cayenne pepper and I can almost taste their zesty crunch. Afterwards, we light the pumpkins and sit by the fire pit pushing browned marshmellows between chocolate and graham crackers.
Husband and I are ready to embrace October sunsets with snuggles and smores. And our love story most definitely includes a few large-fruited autumn squashes. The smells and warmth of our fall evenings fill the night and I cannot think of a more comforting place to be. In that memory. In our tradition.
1 comment:
Are you gonna carve yours like that picture? How did they do that? It's awesome.
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