Tricks and Treats

we carved pumpkins. tom and i bought pumpkins on friday with the hopes of carving them. to get erin up and out of bed and to do something fun and bonding. i don't ever remember carving pumpkins as a family in my life. my mom swears we did it once, but i don't remember. it's not that my mom or family wasn't festive or that we didn't like to bond. it's just that usually there wasn't money for things like pumpkins and then if there might have been a few extra bucks, my mom just didn't have the time. she was the mom and the dad in our family. when she wasn't working or doing housework or yard work or when my sister got sick - taking care of her... she was usually collapsed in a chair resting or taking a nap. my mom's signature position at any family holiday get together is almost always asleep on the couch. becuase it's the only time the lady stops moving and sleep is pretty much instantaneous.

so we didn't carve pumpkins or dye easter eggs. we usually bonded around t.v. shows because that didn't actually take physical energy or creative energy. my mom used to watch the X-files. that was our big show... so were M*A*S*H re-runs and star-trek. erin didn't dig any of our shows, but two against one... hee hee.

but last night, we carved pumpkins. erin had a reason to get out of bed. mom could obesse about how to light a pumpkin without using a candle, i could get my craft on and carve and tom could do what he does... take it all in (and make amazing pumpkin seeds). it was a good time. we talked and teased and carved. it was a good time and i really like my pumpkin. it makes me happy. tom's pumpkin makes me extremely happy too. i think some of the happiest people in the world are those with downsyndrome. i love the way they can capture love and life and happy in a smile. and tom's pumpkin... it is soo the downs pumpkin. it makes me happy. extremely happy. and it makes me think of beautiful gweny. which again... makes me super happy.