Hello from the Hughes': Learning to take back the Season

it’s November first, people!

whew!

that means Halloween is behind us and we have enough chocolate to get us through the months ahead... you know, those months that dictate our moods, our schedules, our lives. the months otherwise known as the holidays!

it’s pathetic to think it’s taken me this long to realize that the season doesn’t have to rule over me. yeh... i actually might have figured this out just yesterday.

so i kinda secretly dread every part of Halloween. don't hate me. the afternoon is typically fraught with me huffing about trying to make the night oh so memorable and so fun for the kids. in all my efforts i let those pesky holiday expectation command my every move. i freak out about dinner, i freak about homework. i freak out about how the pumpkins gotta be carved and set up and lit. who will pass out candy and what about the annual Halloween pictures with everyone actually smiling in their costumes? it’s a mad dash from our door to the next door to the next where i do anything but enjoy it. ok i will admit heath bars aren't so bad.

we get home from school. i already want to collapse from the day. so much to do. better start getting frazzled. but somehow a little voice came over me reminding me to take back the day. it was telling me to stop the madness. Halloween doesn’t have to be this perfect crazy rushed event. i am in charge. and i can say no. i don’t have to answer to anyone, for anyone. i can still put dinner on the table and eat with my family. i can finish the dishes, i can put a 'come back later' note on my door. i can remind my kids whose watch we’re on! and i can skip that entire block. we don’t always have to do it all!

thankfully i could hear it. the whisper to slow down.

because there is another way.
it might feel different than what i’m used to.
and that’s okay.

it doesn’t have be any certain way. in fact, it shouldn’t.

so i might have to start a new holiday tradition this year...

saying no.

it’s okay to slow down.
it's okay to do less.

it’s okay to leave some "traditions" out.
sigh!
aren't you relieved?

counter culture is cool.
at least i think we should make it that way.

but get this, friends? in the end, i won.

saying no to my own ridiculous expectations allowed me to thoroughly enjoy the sweet moments of trick-o-treating bliss. it was kinda my favorite Halloween ever. each and every one of my kids responded accordingly. they were calm and patient and unexpectedly listening! it was a pure parenting paradox.

go figure.