Happy Halloween!

 

How I Spent My Night

One of the things that I am most grateful for in my adult years is the fact that I am mellowing in a lot of ways.  Halloween has always been a big deal for me and I have always struggled not to put an extreme amount of pressure on myself to celebrate in grand style.  In the past, if I was throwing a party, it had to be the party.  If I was going to a haunted house, it had to be the best, scariest haunted house ever.  And if I was celebrating Halloween, I was celebrating Halloween.  Of course, the problem with all that is that the more you build something up the more destined it is to fail.  Cause, you know, reality.

Now I'm incredibly grateful for the fact that it doesn't take nearly as much to make me happy.  Sure, I went a little nuts baking in preparation for our Halloween potluck at work- but I like baking.  And the simple fact that there was apple pie and cupcakes was enough.  Just listening to the Monster Mash while chatting with coworkers was enough.  Just carving a simple jack-o-lantern was enough (though it certainly helped that it came out well).  Torturing my poor dog by dressing him up as a pumpkin and then cooing over how overwhelmingly adorable he is was enough.  Handing out candy to the cute kids in the neighborhood was more than enough.  And ending it all by settling on the couch to watch this year's Treehouse of Horror was all I needed to complete the perfect night.

It's been a great Halloween.