Halloween

It's Halloween today. The celebration of Halloween is such a moral dilemma for me because it is SO much not a Christian holiday. Its traditions are steeped in superstition and pagan practices and don't glorify God. However, while I don't want to honor the foundation of the day, it seems to me that many of the roots of the traditions of Halloween have been forgotten. Kids (and most adults) don't realize that pumpkins were carved to scare away spirits or that costumes were worn to hide from evil entities. The traditions have morphed into more positive, family-connecting, neighborhood-gathering activities.

I love seeing the little kids dressed as ladybugs, firefighters, ninjas, and cupcakes. I love gathering with friends to carve big smiling faces into pumpkins and roast the seeds that we pull from them. I love the neighborly spirit that comes with filling all of our kids' pillowcases with candy. There is nothing evil left in these activities, so I do choose to take part in them. I don't go to haunted houses, try to scare kids, or decorate with webs, witches, and ghosts. That is where my line is drawn.

As for this Halloween: It is rainy, windy, and cold outside and I'm a bit concerned that I won't be able to get rid of all of the candy I bought for the kids. It will then end up on my hips and that is bad news....a negative side effect of Halloween. We'll have to see what happens....I'll keep you posted.

The moment of truth:
It's 5:00 and the kids are trickling slowly to my door. They are bundled up and wet, but I see that some Kodiak kids are used to this kind of stuff and a little rain and wind won't stop them on their quest for exorbitant amounts of sugar. It is miserable out, but the sparkly little fairies and butterflies are wearing rain boots, the foil-wrapped tin man is sporting a heavy layer of long underwear, and the whoopie cushion is wrapped up in a beanie and warm scarf.  I'm rewarding their efforts with handfuls of goodies. I'm just so glad I'm not out there.

It's 6:20 and I think that all of the bold souls that were going to brave the weather have done so. The dark, wet street is empty and I have a lot of candy left. I think I'll just ding-dong-ditch my bowl on my neighbors porch and watch her hips expand. (Yeah right. Megan could eat the entire contents of Willy Wonka's factory and not gain an ounce. I'd hate her for it if she wasn't so darn likable.)

Thinking about how wet and miserable the trick-or-treaters must be makes me want some hot cocoa, so I'm off to make some. I leave you with pictures of a few of my favorite kids. I hope you all had a great (dry) Halloween!

Little Ladybug Alison

Dinosaur Tyce

Firefighter Trevor

Changes

Mmmmm.....a hot cup of coffee, a down blanket on my bed, a snoring dog curled up by my legs, blowing cold rain outside, a pink MacBook on my lap....it's most definitely time to write a blog.

Wow, it's been a long time since I've written a post. The end of August was my last one. The end of August was also when I started working again (as a substitute teacher for the Kodiak school district) and when Joe left for a three month stint at law enforcement school in Georgia. I think I switched over from exploration mode to survival mode and that's why I haven't written in so long.

I ended up having a wonderful summer. In May, I couldn't say that I was very appreciative of Kodiak. I might have actually been pretty close to making one of those paper chains where you rip a link off every day to see how much longer you have before something special happens, like moving. By August, however, I was asking Joe if we could add a fourth year to his tour here. Great friends, a cozy house, a little bit of sunshine, and endless amounts of outdoor adventure had quite an impact on me in three short months. My heart just swallowed Kodiak up.
Side note:  By the time we actually have to tell the "higher ups" whether we actually want that fourth year or not,  it will be the middle of January. My opinion might be a little different again as I'm slipping all over the icy roads in 50 mph winds and starving for even just one little ray of sunshine to hit my face again. I'm wishy-washy like that. It's my parent's fault for raising me in beautifully sunny southern California, where my skin and my brain became addicted to those golden rays of light. I'm supposed to blame my parents for everything, right? So, while I'd love to tell you how long we will be living here, I'm afraid that I just don't know at this point. Ask me in February.

The shift to working again has gone smoothly, for the most part. I miss my freedom and friend time a little bit but have just learned to shift activities to the evenings. I guess this is what "normal" people with "normal" jobs have to do. It's been years since I've had a day job....it's a little surreal. The job has been fun, though, and I've met some great kids and great adults-who-work-with-kids. Being around kids all day alters the way I think and keeps me on my toes. It also makes me wish I lived closer to my nieces and nephews. Families sure do spread out these days, don't they?

As far as the Joe-being-gone-for-three-months (for which we still have a month to go) situation goes: not loving it. We've been apart for three months before. We've been apart for nine months before! In all honesty, we're just pretty used to him being gone a lot. That's just the way our life is. But, I still never get over being lonely for him. Me and him....well, we're just one. Intertwined. Stronger together. A single entity in two bodies. It's just a little bit harder to do your best when you aren't all there. There's no question that we both survive, and we do it quite well, but it never really feels right. To make things worse, Joe pretty much hates the school that he's at this time and wishes every day that he didn't go. I'm so glad he's not a quitter, though......it makes me proud when he accomplishes things, even if he hates them. Makes me feel secure. He only has 27 more days to go and he'll have another great thing to add to his already excellent resume.
My friends are doing an amazing job of taking care of me during Joe's absence. I rarely have to cook, I have workout and bible study partners, our lawn and vehicles are taken care of by their husbands, and I always have a cozy couch and friendly conversation available to me. I feel loved and can only hope to be able to do the same for them when they need it.

Hope this little update helped. Again, please forgive me for my lack of posts. I'll try to realize that they don't always have to be amazing adventures.....maybe you just want to know how I'm doing. And me, well, I'm not so amazing all the time. But that's ok. The fact that I'm surrounded by super cool friends and family who love me tells me I'm doing something right. And that's amazing.

My coffee is cold now...but I finished a post and it was quite enjoyable to write. It's going to be a good day.