Here we stand on Samhain, a Gaelic celebration that witches everywhere celebrate as the new year! As we move from the harvest season closer to the edges of winter - we celebrate. We celebrate the bountiful harvests we have reaped. Whether it is a wealth of friends, good food or simply a beloved pet or a favorite place to walk. There are gems and jewels we all have in our life. Late fall and winter move more slowly, and I often think of bears in their dens and envy their hibernation. As a child, halloween was the pinnacle of the fall. My dad would build complicated and beautiful cardboard costumes - a violin, a map of France - each year was something new. Together we walked through the streets of Brookline and gleefully collected twix bars, reeses cups, and each year the one house that would always hand out a toothbrush or apple. I was grateful for the excitement, the late night and for spending time with my dad.
As an adult I rarely dress up - though having a dog this year was the closest I've come to it. My partner asked if my dog had dressed up as a wolf this year - smiling, I quipped that he had, and that somewhere out in the world was a wolf dressed up as Coolidge. The candy that I eagerly seek out now is different though. It is a home cooked meal, it is running through the first frost with my dog early in the morning, it is a call from my mother on a Sunday, it is a kiss from my partner before the work day starts. I've found that kind of sweet lasts a little bit longer than my candy bucket did when I was 11.
The image I drew today is just a sketch. That's where it all starts, an idea, an attempt. The two children stand in front of the door waiting. Will it be a trick or a treat? Who will answer the door? A gremlin? Mary Poppins? They wait as we all do for what this next season brings.
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