You guys, it’s HALLOWEEN WEEK. I am thrilled. It’s my second favorite holiday, just behind Thanksgiving, and just before Christmas. Since Halloween helps us get our first foot into the holiday season, you can bet my posts over the next two months will be all kinds of festive. But let’s focus. This week - this week is all about all things spooky and whimsical. I don’t remember loving Halloween as a kid, but I have been all-in as an adult. I’ve made Hubs wear themed couple costumes, bought every single accessory required for a specific character, searched countless stores for a dress in the perfect color, and even given Ella a giant box to build a robot. There is never an idea too wild or too inconvenient (Andy may strongly disagree with this). Halloween is a chance to bring all my creativity to light. Take a minute to think about why holidays are so special to us. Yes, they often celebrate an important event, but I’m thinking more about how each of us holds those special days. They are generally marked by doing something out of the ordinary. Parties, food, attitudes; all kinds of special celebration. Halloween is no exception to this idea. Now, on a typical day, most people (myself included) don’t run around town in a creative costume, hollering BOO at people. We don’t knock on everyone’s door up and down the street asking them to give us candy. Nope - doing any of that on a random day would likely get some strange looks. But on Halloween, we become bolder; more carefree; willing to step out of our typical character and try on something new.
A few weeks ago, on Ella’s birthday, I let you know about how much I value celebration. (Check out that post here). I’m not always on my A-game, but I do love to try. It’s probably a reason I’ve connected myself to Halloween in recent years; it’s another reason to get to celebrate. I’m looking forward to celebrating Halloween over six days this week, with every single one of my students at the dance studio. I’ll be dressing up in 3 different costumes over the coming days to celebrate with them. But preparing to celebrate with them got me thinking: why do we tell ourselves we need a reason to celebrate? Go with me here - this is probably going to sound a little eccentric. Going off my scenario above, I’d like to propose that we normalize: -Dressing however we’d like, whenever we’d like -Saying whatever we need to say -Connecting with our neighbors -Asking for what we need. I know I’m probably putting way too much thought into this and making a mountain out of a molehill. You may look at that list above and think they are all normal and okay things. And, sure, when we see others do these things, we celebrate them and greet them with messages of love. But we are far more critical of ourselves, holding ourselves to a standard too harsh to measure others by. This week, as you look at the kids dressing up, playing out their imaginations, using their best manners to ask for a treat at the neighbor’s door, take a lesson from them. And this is not a lesson in how to do Halloween well. Oh no, this is a lesson in how to do life well. How to put some whimsy and fun into every day. How to find your style, find your voice. And while you’re learning this for yourself, remember to keep that spirit alive in your kiddos. Never let them lose a reason to celebrate. Happy Halloween!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMy name is Miranda and I'm a mom, spouse, dance teacher, and entrepreneur. I’m going to share my life with you. The good, the bad, the weird. I hope to inspire you, encourage you, make you laugh. I’ll be honest. And I can’t wait to learn more about you through it all. Categories
All
|