By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.
~ William Shakespere, Macbeth

October — one of my favorite months, culminating in one of my favorite holidays… Halloween.

I don’t go crazy with it. You won’t find life-sized figures of the Grim Reaper or bloody, decapitated zombies in my yard. I love the classic Halloween. A simple All Hallows’ Eve with Jack-o’-lanterns, witch hats, little white-sheeted ghosts, and trick-or-treating at dusk — a cold bite in the air, chilly fingers and noses, the sound of crunching leaves underfoot, and, of course, the mandatory annual viewing of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Luke and I both have birthdays just a day or three before Halloween, so we always celebrated together. Halloween felt like the grand finale of our birthdays, making the whole occasion extra special.

Every October, Luke and I would head to the farm market to pick out a few big pumpkins for carving Jack-o’-lanterns. We’d sit together on the front porch, working on our creations, then eagerly await dusk so we could light them up and properly admire our handiwork before heading out, with Luke disguised as a pirate or Darth Vader, to politely demand candy from our neighbors.

Halloween looks and feels a lot different this year because Luke is away at college in another state.

I didn’t buy the big pumpkins for Jack-o’-lanterns this year. This was partly a logistical issue… who was going to haul a bunch of big, heavy pumpkins around? Not me! Besides, it’s not nearly as much fun carving a Jack on your own when there’s no one to light it up with and show it to.

But I did get myself a small collection of little pumpkins, flanked by a couple of chrysanthemums. And I somewhat impulsively bought an adorable ghost candy bowl that was on clearance because… come on… how could I not?

But I still got my October Luke time.

I drove up to see him a few days ago, and we walked along beaches at dusk before dinner, then scrambled and hiked along the rocky ledges of the Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island.

And because I’m me, I’ll be driving up again at the end of the week to see him on his actual birthday. If it’s reasonably possible, I insist on seeing my kid on his birthday. I’m not sure if Luke minds this or not, but honestly, he has very little choice in the matter.

And besides, there will be homemade cupcakes — no one can protest if cupcakes are involved, can they?

Well, this turned into a bit of a rambling post full of my reflective nonsense, so if you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading, and Happy Halloween!

If you’re in the mood for a more history-based post about Halloween, check out last year’s post here.

Or check out my Stories pages to see what else I’ve got.