We are on the springboard for my favorite time of year. And by “time of year” I mean “October through December.” Each month and holiday its own, but knitted together in this cornucopia of tastes, tints, and textures.
We threw up our Halloween decorations on Saturday. Too early, you say? Well, I just checked with myself, and guess what we decided - we don't care! We ate candy corn, ready spooky stories to each other, and hung up a substantial amount of Halloween and autumn decor.
Not our actual house. Or decorations.
The practice of holiday decorations is something I brought to our marriage, but something Katie perfected. It started in October 1995, when we'd been married less than two months and were still in college. Realizing we had nothing hanging up in our one-room basement apartment, I made photocopies at work of crappy cut-outs of traditional Halloween characters, laminated them, brought them home, and hung them up all over our little abode.
Kind of like this, but even less so.
When Katie asked why I was crap-ifying our apartment, I explained.
My mom, who raised 7 kids, was all about the holidays. Her selflessness was boundless to begin with; but the way she celebrated this time of year was unparalleled. And she had an abundance of holiday decorations. She was also all about the food - pumpkin flavored things, breads, soups, baked goods, candy, etc. But I always loved coming home from school and feeling the seasons and holidays all over the walls and tables and surfaces of our home. And I wanted to continue that.
And Katie was happy to participate. Her first act, as Producer of Holiday Decor, was to remove the sad, desperate attempt to call laminated paper a "decoration." Over the lats 18 years we have purchased or handmade or received some pretty cool autumn decorations. I love that Katie embraced something that was significant to me. I love that my kids get kiddy when we pull out holiday decorations and the day is filled with laughter, a Halloween iPod mix our family made together, and the kids start every other sentence with, "Remember that one Halloween when...."
I love that I associate these things with my mom. I think I always will. She just had a birthday (Happy 69th, Mom!), and I think when this time of year rolls around, she's at her youngest.
