The Flying Pumpkin - A Little Halloween Story!

One of Jamie's pumpkin carvings!

The Flying Pumpkin - A Little Halloween Story!

Halloween with Joshua was always a treat!  Just think -- I was able to go trick or treating with him for 22 years!!  He loved people and he loved being able to knock on doors and get candy his entire life!  But of course he would want to go inside each house, so we would have to persuade him to keep going to the next house, and the next!  We usually were the slowest trick or treaters ever!  And many times he was on my back between houses to help him get to the next house.  I cherish those piggy back rides!

And then having him help pass out candy was an adventure in itself.  He loved 

Our cute neighbor Candy Jackson helping Joshua get candy!

answering the doors and hearing the kids yell "trick or treat!"  And he loved passing out candy!  You never knew if you would get one piece, or an entire handful!!  However, an unsuspecting trick or treater could be surprised as he was walking away from our door as Joshua would grab one more handful and use that amazing throwing arm of his, and throw it as they walked away.  It was like having our own pinata all night long!

 But one Halloween season brings a special memory as I had taken all five kids to choose their very own pumpkins at a local pumpkin farm.  It is so fun to watch my young children carefully and painstakingly try to find the perfect pumpkin!  With hundreds to choose from, this was quite a long process.  But we left the pumpkin patch with each child very happy and excited carrying the perfect pumpkin they had each found.  Joshua, Jeremy, Jamie, Jacob and Janson all had a pumpkin!! Hurray!!  

 As we neared our house, I was ready to make the final left turn into our cul-de-sac, just the same time as my friend and neighbor was pulling out.  As we passed, I rolled down my window to say hi.  And that's all it took!  Suddenly, a pumpkin went flying out the window and began rolling quickly down the hill!  And then cute Jamie screaming and crying that it was her pumpkin!  It was definitely a traumatic moment.  There was no doubt that she believed she could never find another one like it!

We waited anxiously for Jeremy to return.  And he did!  Holding Jamie's pumpkin in one complete piece, with only one crack in the pumpkin.  We were overjoyed.  We couldn't believe it!  Jeremy saved the day!!

The flying pumpkin was saved!

My Shopping Buddy

My Shopping Buddy

As I walk into the grocery store, I miss my Joshua boy!  He was such a fun shopping buddy!  But being a fun buddy certainly didn't mean it was easy, but it was always an adventure about to happen for sure! 

In fact, I never knew how long it would take me to even get Joshua to the car to go somewhere.  If he wasn't ready to go, at his height, it was quite the coaxing and patient game for sure!  And that certainly would carry on throughout the day!  

I remember one shopping experience when he was sitting in the cart.  Although he was about age 12, he was still fairly small for his age and I could pick him up and sit him in the back of the cart.  But the biggest problem was that I needed to load my cart with groceries!  Since Joshua absolutely LOVED to throw things, I had to strategically place things around the cart, on the side of the cart and under the cart and even hold a few things!  But as I realized that his arms were getting longer and many more groceries being thrown, I discovered that if I placed several rolls of paper towels in the cart within his reach, he would focus on those instead of the other groceries.  So there we would go and try to shop, walking down the aisles as Joshua and I would play "basketball" with those paper towels!   I would try to catch these paper towels that would go flying out of the cart!  And cheer when he made 2 points!!  And then we would certainly surprise a shopper or two, as paper towels would go flying in their carts to score 2 points there as well!  What sweet memories as we would cheer and shop and greet, give high fives to strangers and cheer some more!  It is definitely not the quickest way to get through the grocery store, but it most certainly was the most entertaining!  

And my incredible kids Jeremy, Jamie, Jacob and Janson were also so quick to help Joshua, help me, and give Joshua a few of those five fives to get us through the store!

There was a story to tell every time we shopped!  As he grew, however, he eventually did become too big to put in the cart!  At 6'1" that is no surprise!  This definitely caused some creativity to now get him through the store.  We had many episodes of temper tantrums in the aisle, running after him when he escaped, more items thrown, or simply not being able to shop.  But then a wonderful discovery was made!  Joshua loved to stand on the first bar at the very front of the grocery cart!  And he would actually stay there!  But he needed a little help with his stability, so I would place my arms around him so that I could steer the cart, and keep him standing at the same time!  But that gave him an extra six inches of height!  And so the visual of Joshua and I going through the store with Joshua about a foot taller than me, and me about a foot leaning to the right, always makes me smile.  What a joy he was, so much taller than everyone we passed, smiling, laughing and saying hi to everyone, while I would anchor my arms around him, lean my head way to the right so I could see where I was going, and steer our way carefully, yet quickly, through those many aisles.  Thankfully I never ran into anyone, and we did meet most of the people we passed!  I loved feeling the kindness of strangers and I loved sharing these precious, and precarious moments with him.  What sweet memories I have!

I can just see him now, beaming with joy, as he "helped" his mom to grocery shop!  
I love the memories of these very adventurous shopping trips, and treasure them always!