When I woke up this morning and opened the blinds, it took me a minute to figure out what was wrong with the picture I was seeing. Killian's pumpkin was sitting on the porch, and something just wasnt quite right. For a few seconds my mind raced through the options, including wondering if something had fallen off the roof onto the pumpkin (utterly ridiculous of course, but I blame foggy morning brain). Then my gaze was drawn to something orange out in the middle of our street. Why, that was a pumpkin. A quick glance back at he porch confirmed what my brain was having trouble comprehending. Our pumpkins, minus Killian's that had clearly been stomped on, were not where we had left them the night before. As I announced the news to the rest of the house, my mind was still reeling and trying to wrap around the idea that someone had come up to our porch in the middle of the night with the sole purpose of ruining something we had spent so much time on. I was a little angry, but mostly just sad as I listened to the kids cry out how mean that was, and question how somebody could do that to their pumpkins. I slipped on my shoes and went out to investigate. Killian's pumpkin sat smashed in next to the porch, and one of them was making pie out in the middle of the road. I found the other two between our cars in the driveway, smashed of course, with little bits of pumpkin splattered up onto my car windshield. "Thank goodness they didn't smash my windshield in" was my first thought, followed by resignation as I picked up our fallen friends.
It wasn't a great start to Halloween morning, but we didn't let it get us down for long. They were destined for the compost heap anyways, they just got there a day early because of some silly teenager prank. It was a good opportunity to talk about respecting other people and their belongings with the kids, and I think its a lesson that will stick since they experienced being on the receiving end of someones thoughtlessness first hand.
So, goodbye dear pumpkins. We had a great time carving out your personalities, and watching you glow with candlelight by our front door. You will return to the earth and help nourish your fellow pumpkins growing in the garden next year. Thanks for hanging out on our porch all week, and I am so sorry that you met such a dismal demise. Next year I am going to booby trap the hell out of our front porch, and we will see who has the last laugh then!
It wasn't a great start to Halloween morning, but we didn't let it get us down for long. They were destined for the compost heap anyways, they just got there a day early because of some silly teenager prank. It was a good opportunity to talk about respecting other people and their belongings with the kids, and I think its a lesson that will stick since they experienced being on the receiving end of someones thoughtlessness first hand.
So, goodbye dear pumpkins. We had a great time carving out your personalities, and watching you glow with candlelight by our front door. You will return to the earth and help nourish your fellow pumpkins growing in the garden next year. Thanks for hanging out on our porch all week, and I am so sorry that you met such a dismal demise. Next year I am going to booby trap the hell out of our front porch, and we will see who has the last laugh then!