celebrate . Halloween in the House

Happy Halloween! Around here, we tend to merge our excitement for fall together with Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations that celebrate this long-awaited time of year. Cooler days, rustling leaves, bluer skies, pumpkins, and the smell of warm spices… the changing season settles in to our hearts and to our home. Even though our favorite activities for Halloween are changing, we never seem to outgrow the comfort that comes from pulling out our decorations, remembering favorite things, and creating a cozier feel in our rooms. On this day of spooks, I thought I’d share a glimpse of our Halloween in the house, and with it, a glimpse of my heart in yet another season of change.

In pulling down our fall boxes from the attic and rummaging through them, I love remembering where things “go”, what memories from my own childhood are there, the travel adventures that yielded some of the decorative items, how cute my kiddos were in the costumes represented, and our belief in the Great Pumpkin. In this season where activities and friends and just their own desire for “space” seem to be pulling us away from family time, I can’t help but think these little traditions of decorating and celebrating and, in a way, viewing our own memories are helping us hold together even stronger. At least that’s what I tell myself while I’m arranging jack-o-lantern buckets and glittered pumpkins. And, it’s what I hear, when I hear my not-so little say “this is nice,” “it’s cozy,” or “it feels like fall.”

In my world, my little spooks are getting older, and so many of our traditions are moving from kid-like fun to more acceptable teen experiences – yes, it’s a hard transition for this mom! But, I’m continually learning to embrace each new stage and phase of parenting, and lately, I’ve been realizing what a blessing it is to interact with my children during these teen and pre-teen years in ways that show their personalities, their thoughts, their convictions, their humor, their interests, their strong hearts. I’m beginning to see them as people – not as little ones. And although, that seems to tug at my heart every day, it’s such a joy to honor who they’re becoming.