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Halloween A Week Away

         There's something about the holidays that just says life is normal and goes on. There's some comfort in traditions and in seasons. Even though there are no kids at my house, the little ones only visit occasionally, sometimes all at once, and sometimes spread out. The kids in our neighborhood have grown up, so we get few trick-or-treaters.

         Still there is a skeleton handing in the foyer, 2 scarecrows in the covered entrance with a black pumpkin on the lower step. Brown and yellow mums are in the ground out back. A pumpkin sits at the end of our walkway to guide people from the long driveway. A black crow looks down from the garage.

         We have baskets of artificial leaves, mini scarecrows, and gourds inside. A ceramic jack o'lantern, bats, and stuffed ghosts pose around the living room and dining room. "Cute scary" stuff is everywhere on kitchen towels and drinking cups. There's only two of us, but we do it for ourselves. Two generations, but apparently we are related because we both still want our holidays, just like always. We don't take the easy way out, and say it's too much trouble. I think we like the trouble.

         The day after Halloween the ghosts go away, the scarecrows and harvest things stay a little longer. The turkeys will come out to play and pose. The fall theme table cloth and kitchen towels will arrive. And autumnal wreaths take the place of skeletons. We will have a houseful on Turkey Day. The day after Thanksgiving, we start swapping out Christmas things.

         Give us our holidays. And all the memories and the passing of time.