Pumpkin Trees

(forced posing)

In the midst of a challenging few weeks of work, Halloween happened. And then things got busier, and the traditional flurry of Halloween blog posts never happend. But, rest assured, Halloween did happen this year for the Szumko boys.

We attended the traditional University of Michigan Halloween concert, admiring the costumes and creativity of the orchestra and the student conductors. (we also had the traditional hushing of children for about one-third of the songs, but after seven years it is getting easier... that and the lollipops)

And the next night was the big event. Excited boys, a rushed dinner, and a long walk around the neighborhood. Chatting with the neighbors, and enjoying the vicarious thrill of long-awaited treats and candy. It's a night like no other.

The costumes were long planned---Alex was going to be a character from the Percy Jackson series (where a young teenager finds out that he's actually half-human and half-Greek-God). I ordered a special shirt that references the story, and we bought the sword and shield. I'm sure most neighbors didn't have a clue who he was (why is Alex walking around with just a sword and shield?) but his classmates sure understood.

Jameson was going to be a Jedi, and wear one of the costumes my mom lovingly made in earlier years. For months it was planned, and we sought out every piece of that costume from various corners in the house. Except... except, I forgot that Jameson has his own mind. About ten minutes before we left for the concert, he changed direction. A knight in shining armor was the new choice... and the other costume items we had in the house remotely resembling a knight costume were old spray-painted cardboard pieces left-over from a school play. We threw them on and left so we'd be on time. I couldn't help but be a little disappointed that the Jedi costume wasn't getting another run. And the cardboard pieces---well, they were beaten and abused from being dragged all over the house and tossed down the steps. They were looking a bit... shall we say... shabby.

But, the more I thought about it, the more I loved his confidence and joy in his chosen costume. He was a knight that evening, waving his sword triumphantly and seizing the moment. He was utterly confident and full of joy as that shabby knight in shining armor.

And so I relaxed and stopping fretting over the details.

May he always chose to be a slightly shabby knight when he feels like it---rather than the dashing jedi someone else envisions.

Addendum: the title of the post references our conversation during the pumpkin carving, when Jameson advised that we keep the seeds in order to plant more pumpkin trees.