Charles and I have been taking advantage of the nice fall weather and have been doing nice fall things! We carved pumpkins a few weeks ago and baked the seeds, which was a really great way to spend a Saturday, and then we set them out for the whole neighborhood to enjoy! Charles's is growing some sort of fungus by now (his is the winking one, mine is the scary one!) but mine has held up pretty well. I think we'll light some candles in them tonight and then figure out how to dispose of them. We bought some packaged fruit snacks to give away, but this far back in the valley, with few street lights and a large fence around our house, I'm not sure we'll be getting any trick-or-treaters.
I love Halloween, and I really miss the way it used to just be fun and innocent. I heard from a friend in Morristown that the mayor had declared that Saturday was Halloween because Sunday is the "lord's day" (which completely disregards the fact that Saturday is the holy day for some religions). I just don't see the problem with having Halloween on a Sunday. The holiday used to be about being a kid, dressing up, and getting candy. Now it seems that people are too afraid (of the dark, of cars, of pedophiles) to let children go out and have fun. When I was a child, my father carved pumpkins, my mother made great costumes, and then she took us out to go door-to-door and she WATCHED us. She didn't have to know how many registered sex offenders lived in the area because she was always with us and knew we would be safe. I think that Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because of that. I worry that by the time I have kids, our only option will be to go to the local elementary school or community center because door-to-door is "unsafe" and no one does it. I want to give my kids the memories that I had of running around the neighborhood, feeling safe because I knew someone was there for me. I want Halloween to be more than a college excuse to dress slutty and get drunk, I want to be able to celebrate it on a Sunday if it falls on one, and I want to make my own costume without Target making fun of it.
Okay, this was supposed to be a catch-up post to let everyone know how things are going, but obviously I was feeling like ranting. I just love Halloween. What would the Great Pumpkin think if he could see it now?
