Nostalgia and pumpkins

Happy Halloween! (One day late...)

This year, I had the day off. Earlier this week it finally hit me that I hadn’t really taken any time to enjoy fall. Every time I’ve gone to Trader Joe’s in the last month or so, I’ve thought “it doesn’t feel like fall enough yet, I’ll get apple cider next time” and suddenly October is gone.

So yesterday I enjoyed all-things fall. Ben & I went out and bought apple cider and I drank to my heart's content while we watched The Addam's Family (his first time seeing it!) and put the final touches on our Halloween costumes. That’s my ideal Halloween. Last year, I worked on Halloween and was new to the city, so the day kind of came and went. The only difference, it felt like, was that everybody in the office was dressed up and there were some treats.

So this year I wanted to make sure it felt different, special, spooky.

This year, Ben and I recreated Halloween costumes we did as children. By chance, he and I both went as a version of “punks” as kids, so we decided to do everything in our power to recreate those looks. Recreating childhood costumes was far more magical than I expected because each time I work on it I was brought back to the wild wonder that Halloween had when I was a child.

I remember the pure excitement of getting to wander the streets in a costume, the absolute adrenaline of dumping all the hard-earned candy out on the carpet after getting home. I remember wearing my costumes to school on the day of Halloween because I wanted all my friends to see what I was that year. I remember watching The Addams Family and Halloweentown on TV on the days leading up to the big day. I remember drinking hot cider my mom would warm up and caramel corn straight from the bin. The season is still so full of wonder and nostalgia, I've realized we just get a little lost in the day-to-day sometimes.

This year, I think I may have successfully gotten that feeling back.