November 2021 – Page 2 – Sweat & Sparkle

Well, all the Halloween decorations are down, and now the yard looks so empty. No skeletons prancing around or rows of tombstones!

Monday night, I took down all the decorations inside the house and packed them up, then pulled down the Thanksgiving box. That box is not nearly as large, but I wanted to make the mantel look extra beautiful since both my husband and I love Halloween and were kind of down about it being over.

At first, my husband watched me from the sofa, since arranging the mantel is pretty much my domain. He ended up wandering over to help me center this, position that, hang a wreath above the mantel because he’s so much taller than me. I love how it turned out, and when I lit the tea lights and tiny battery lights, it looked so pretty.

I stood back to look it all over, make sure it was all perfect, and my husband smiled at me. He said he likes watching me get excited about decorating the house like that. It’s something his ex either couldn’t do or refused to do; she was incapable, or unwilling, to help make a house a true home. But this is our home, and we love it, and we have so much fun with it.

Maybe now we should just dress up our skeletons as Pilgrims and Indians, and put them back in the front yard… 🙂

Simple

I’m always a little disappointed when Halloween is over. It’s sort of like of the day after Christmas: all that build-up, all that preparation, and now it’s all done until next year.

Last night, my husband and I turned off the porch light and flipped on every outdoor decoration that lights up, from flickering candles on tombstones to flashing skulls to glowing skeletons’ eyes. We were like two little kids hopped up on sugar, walking through the yard, calling each other over to look at something, taking pictures, enjoying the energy and the fun of the holiday.

The entire weekend was beautiful. We teased my stepdaughter because she thought it was arctic cold, but I adore the cooler weather. I spent some time in the yard, which is so much better when it isn’t blazing hot.

On Sunday we took some time to just relax. I was reading a book, and I looked up at my stepdaughter snuggled under a blanket with her new book on the loveseat, my husband tucked in next to me on the couch, and I just felt happy and peaceful. Moments like that mean everything to me. Simple. Happy.

This evening, after work, I will reluctantly start taking down the Halloween decorations. We’re not quite ready for Christmas decorations, though. Thanksgiving always gets shoved out of the way in the rush for Christmas carols and wreaths and trees, but it is one of my favorite holidays because of the focus on gratitude and family and appreciation for what you have instead of the groupthink urge to buy more, spend more, have more, and never be satisfied or happy anyway.