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Eye on Soaps' October 9, 2006
It's the Most Wonderful
Time
I feel absolutely giddy today because it's HERE! I L*O*V*E October. It has forever been a contest as to whether I appreciate Fall or Spring most of all. In Spring, especially up here in the mountains surrounding the El Dorado National Forest where I live, Spring means more snow. Our planting season doesn't even begin until sometime in May, usually mid to late May, because of the snowfall we get each year. Then, after 2-3 months of having 4-6 feet (literally) of snow around the yard and hearing snow plows rolling out each morning, the melt will start and within a week or two, you would never know it had been never there at all. When the snow leaves, it's as though the whole world got a face peel. It smells are just staggering, so sweet and earthy. We have a plant up here called "mountain misery" that smells like the richest smell of Christmas trees and once the snow is off of it, the aroma is everywhere. Feeling the sun so warm and soft after months of living in the Winter Warlock's back yard is so blissy. Yep, Spring = good, especially if we managed to get through the Winter driving experience without sliding off one of the many unguarded cliffs that run along our county roads. For the past several years, however, Fall has won out. Feeling the crispness of the air, the fat, orange harvest moon hanging low in the sky, the soft blanket of pine needles and cedar tips that starts to fall over the ground, the call of the geese as they bust ass to get to whatever Southernmore part of the world they have chosen to vacation in this year, needing my cuddly, flannel robe in the mornings because of the chill that came sneaking into the house at night, the warm slide of my mulled apple cider easing down my throat (I do make the best ever)... Nope, Fall wins hands down. When push comes to shove, there are a few deciding factors that make it clear that Spring just does not stand a chance. The first is obvious and I expect I'll hear the low, harmonious tone of thousands of mothers sighing at once. Fall = Back to School. I love my kids, don't get me wrong. I am one of the lucky ones who actually enjoys spending time with my kids every single day. At the time of this writing, my younger ones are almost14, 9 and 7. They're awesome kids, but when September rolls around, they all pile onto buses and are magically transported away to schools that they really do love to attend. I am left alone to my own selfish devices. Even though there are family obligations taking up my time, as well as site work and community tasks and such, Fall means that my time is my own. The next rocket-boosting, Spring Can't Touch This (insert an MC Hammer riff here) bonus to Fall is that I am a 45-year-old mom and there is nothing that night sweats and hot flashes like better than a drop in temperature. All Hail Fall. Salut! Lastly, the true ball-breaker in all of this that Spring does not stand a chance of beating: Halloween!! As much as I luvvvv Fall and luvvvv October as the epitome of Fall, there is nothing I like better about it than Halloween (although the hot flash relief is a close second). I hear "Nightmare Before Christmas" running through my brain as I type this, "This is Halloween, this is Halloween..." I get all kinds of giddy and breathless just thinking about it. Sure, part of it is the Witchy thing. It's the time of year when the harvest season is put to rest and the dark of the year is heralded. We metaphorically burn off the fields in which we have labored and toiled for months, put away the hoe and the sickle and the shovel that has been our nearly constant companion for weeks now as we bust butt to bring in the harvest from the fields. Now, with the harvest yield safely tucked away into the silos and the canning jars and the root cellars, our sustenance over the Winter is assured and we are free to rest in front of the fire, sharing stories, relaxing in quiet contemplation and learning more about ourselves and the people closest to us. The shift in energy as the world slips into the short days and long nights is nearly palpable. I love variety and the surety of the turn of the Wheel of the Year and the movement of one season into the next and into the next. Halloween is the death of the year to be reborn in Spring while we, like the seeds that will grow in the coming warmth, wait below in the darkness, forming and becoming and planning. Each season brings it's own unique change to the world and I love the one that Fall brings, with Halloween as the consummate reflection of that change. The Earth goes dormant and so should we, not beginning new projects or making drastic changes in our lives; just settling into where we are at this time in our lives, taking on as little as possible in the way of additional chores or obligations (lessening if at all possible) and spending the next few months evaluating our previous year, finding peace with who we are, shedding away what no longer serves us (like the burning away of the fields to prepare for the new planting that will come in the Spring) and making plans for what we would like to change in our lives in the coming seasons. Halloween is such a marvelous, light-hearted, joyful reflection of all of that. We have the celebration of the bounty through the pillowcase full of bounty that the kiddies will drag home. We have the shedding of what we do not need represented by people giving away the candy. We have the images of "death" honored by the many ghosts and skeletons frolicking about, representing the death of the year (but they are animated, representing "new life" that goes hand in hand with a death). Similarly, the "old" year is reflected in the Crone's face that has come to be our Halloween Witch and the "new" year that will come visible in every little Princess and Fairy costume. We are allowed to dress up as anyone we want to be and dream of a totally different way of being in the world through the donning of disguises, which lets us be someone else or something else for a while. That is the very nature of the dark of the year: daring to dream of and plan for what we want to be in the coming new year. We have bonfires to mimic the burning off the the fields and of conditions, habits, relationships and behaviors that no longer serve our greatest good. We can release our hindrances into the darkness to be burned away from our lives by the consuming, purging, cleansing fire. When we wake up on All Hallows, November 1st, after a night of revelry and fun and celebration and merriment, we walk into new and "Hallowed" season. The air always seems cooler and a little more somber. You can feel that the year has been put to rest and life is settling in for the cold Winter that is to come. It is literally the last "hurrah" of the warmth of the year. Now it is time for hot cocoa and cider, sweaters, socks, jeans, blankets and a warm fire in the fireplace. In nearly 30 years of mothering, there has never been a year that my children did not trick-or-treat in some form or another. We love it. They love it. There's nothing like the expression on the face of a 3-4 year old who has the first trick-or-treating experience to their memory. "What? You mean I can KEEP this? These people are just going to give me candy? For free?" It's as though they just discovered the greatest racket known to man. It's a caper they are going to get to pull off every year and you can see the ch-ching in their greedy little eyes as the full impact registered. I love how the kids live in their costumes for a couple of weeks after Halloween, sleeping in them, wearing them to the grocery store, excited to be Leonardo the Ninja Turtle for as long as they can stand it (or their parents can stand it). I used to ration out the Halloween candy, letting them have 5-6 pieces throughout the day. Now I tell them to go for it. Don't get the candy papers everywhere, trade as you like, here is the Pepto-Bismol if you need it, put the ones you don't like in this big bowl for the family to share and have fun. That way, it's over and done in a matter of days... in theory. There's always that one kid in every bunch who will still ration out their candy to torture the other kids with after theirs is gone, eating Halloween candy through the new year. Such is life. It was a real shame when Halloween Terror hit with the stupid urban legends of razor blades in apples and poison in candy. Not true. Mostly people trying to poison their own kids mixed with "The Hook" stories and a good dash of imagination. Such a shame to taint a great tradition with lies and ominous, misguided threats. I'm glad Halloween is being reclaimed and the celebration goes on. My kids are all going pop-culturey in their costume selections this year. Having worked herself into some serious boobage this year, my daughter has decided to go as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Fortunately, she is borrowing one of my own dresses, so it has a low cut back instead of a low cut front. Dylan wants to be Jambi from PeeWee's PlayHouse:
So we are looking at green make-up, a turban, a decorated box, black pants and black turtleneck, plus maybe some black gloves for the purists in the bunch. Nathan is the one who is going to be a pain in my ass (there's always one, since I am not in the LEAST artsy and craftsy oriented or talented). He wants to be Jack Skeleton from "Nightmare Before Christmas." There are no child costumes of him on ebay and of course, Delena says, "First, get a pinstripe suit..." Um, sure, I can afford/find a pinstripe suit in a size 7 or so... Agh. I hope I can win him over with a Walmart costume of something/anything else. Delena thought that if Dylan was Jambi, Nathan should be PeeWee and of course that went something like, "First, get him a pinstripe suit..." Agh. No problem figuring out my costume... I'll just go as a Witch. [insert cackle here] :) Happy Halloween, everyone. Eat candy!
Love,
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