What I Do

I skimp on decorations. I pawn off pumpkin carving on Tom. Costumes are pulled from the dress-up box, ordered on Amazon, or made with things scavenged from around the house and yard. 

But I support trick-or-treating, and filling the house with friends for a bonfire and bowl of chili. 

Those are the things I can do, so I do them. 

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This Weekend We

On Sunday morning as I was driving home from dropping off friends who had spent the night, I was listening to a pretentious radio show that informed me that a good host thinks about how she wants her event to be remembered and should try to create a unique experience. I realized that by that definition I am far from a good host. Almost every party I have hits the exact same notes. I am a one trick pony.

Every party involves food that has been prepared ahead of time or that can be thrown on the grill.  It is served without fuss.  People crowd around the insufferably messy kitchen. I make some sort of clear liquor cocktail, and there is always a cooler of mixed beer on the porch. The mix always include Natty Boh. We make a bonfire. People line up for the rope swing. Gaggles of children run around the house for hours, making too much noise to suit my neighbor. Two thirds of the party spends the night, and the next morning we make dozens of eggs and pot after pot of coffee while kids rekindle the fire and grown-ups wipe the sleep from their tired eyes.

This weekend, this party, was just as it always is, just as it will be for the foreseeable future. Except that this weekend my dad was dressed as Neal Cassidy, the kids bobbed for apples, and Arlo and Felix unknowingly picked out the same costume. This time the guacamole was a little grosser and candy more plentiful. But basically, it was the same old trick. 

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This Weekend We / Lantern Parade

On Saturday night we drove to Baltimore for another edition of our friends' gonna be an annual Lantern Party Parade. This is the second year (last year), so that makes it a tradition, right?

The costumes were a little tricky this year. We knew Arlo wasn't going to wear the shark costume that my mom bought him because he finds it absolutely terrifying. I thought that I might be able to finagle a clothing based costume. Working with clothing we already had and ideas that didn't require make-up since we were coming straight from a wedding, we decided on lumberjacks. Gus was especially excited because it meant he got to carry around an axle. Arlo, however, proved to be difficult again; a lumberjack who refuses to wear his hat and suspenders is really just a boy in a flannel. Since the rest of the family was in a theme, Sena decided to re-envision her colonial costume and brand herself as a lumberjack's daughter.

Regardless, the parade was pretty great, even if I spent most of the time on the fringes playing spot the dogs with Arlo. He finds little furry creatures far more exciting than drum lines and stilters. Baltimore isn't my city, and is never having been, but I definitely have a soft spot for it. It's fun to parade with friends who do claim the city as their own, with their Natty Bo, John Waters, and blue crab lanterns.

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And Just Like That...

Dear, sweet October is over. October with her nostalgia and smell of leaves. I couldn't make her slow down and wait for me to get used to the bittersweet changes she brought: a baby taking clumsy first steps, a boy who after years without finally has grown a front tooth. No, she didn't wait for me. She brought me another birthday and happiness, but she left so quickly, too.

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But October always saves her best for last; she holds out till the end, closing with haunted houses, costumes, and piles of candy. 

I miss her already. 

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This Weekend We- The Halloween Party Edition

Sometimes it is easy to sit down and find the words that perfectly convey the happiness and the contentment that come with one of those magical days spent with friends and family. Sometimes I feel like I know just how to express that feeling of peace and satisfaction, the feeling that I am/ we are really good a livin' life. I don't have those words today; I just have a happy heart and pictures of kids who were such good sports when we had to change costume plans last minute, pictures of friends posing as Janis and Jerry, pictures of oyster shucking, pictures of my super creepy daughter, and pictures of general merriment, Halloween style.

Well done, Ben and Maggie. Your party was just perfect.

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