Pumpkin Walk

I just love this time of year! Sweater weather is my favourite weather, and we get a lot of it here in Newfoundland. (Pretty soon it will be parka, hat, mitts, scarf and snow boot weather, so I am enjoying this while it lasts!)

On the morning of Halloween, Andrew and I spent some time together admiring the beauty of this season. We took a stroll through the grounds of Government House and then Bannerman Park, where the trees were actively shedding their leaves. We were like kids, carefully choosing our steps so not to trample them one minute, then running and loudly stomping through them the next.

Our lives are busy and stressful and there are times that we feel completely overwhelmed with little more to give. We know when we need a time out - a break from the daily challenges of raising three children with complex needs, and though we don't often get much of a break, we did manage to sneak a couple of hours to ourselves among the Halloween parties, trick-or-treating, medical appointments and haunted houses. It doesn't take much. I've said before that just an hour or two together, away from the demands of our busy family, makes a world of difference. We enjoyed the fresh air, the quiet, and the opportunity to focus on each other for a moment. We need days like this to remind us that no matter how challenging life gets, there is an abundance of little pleasures around us to bring us back home.

The following night, Andrew and the children and I returned to Bannerman Park, where the City was hosting its second annual Pumpkin Walk. Residents were encouraged to bring their carved pumpkins to display along the paths of the park, and glow sticks were provided to place inside each pumpkin to light the path. What a wonderful display it was! People really go all out with their pumpkin carving and decorating, and I just love that! To be honest, Halloween is not my favourite occasion, but I do appreciate the way that some people embrace it wholeheartedly and really get into the spirit of the holiday.

The Pumpkin Walk is an earth friendly event, and a great way to dispose of your pumpkin after Halloween as they will be composted for use in future landscaping projects. Our own pumpkin, which was carved a little too early this year and turned to mush on our front step, made its way into a landscaping project when we heaved it out into the woods behind our house about a week before Halloween.

Happy Haunting, everyone!