I don’t know why gooeyness is so attractive to children, but reaching our tiny hands into the pumpkin to take out the gooey “guts” and seeds made this so much more fun for Ryan and me. The slippery and sticky texture was so funny feeling we would rub it all over our hands and arms. Even Mom didn’t mind if we got some on our clothes.
After the process of “de-gooing” the pumpkin was done, Dad would carve out the face. Once that was done, we stared at a goofy smiling pumpkin named Spooky. Mom would stick a candle inside, and we would all pile outside into our dark front lawn. The process was done. Spooky was left right by the bushes.
The next day, Dad would always have us all outside with our sweaters and toys and help him put up Halloween decorations: The RIP sign with the hands coming out of the ground, the ghost that hung from the tree, the “Happy Halloween” flag that hung from our door, and of course Mr. Skeleton. This guy always sat on our bench acting relaxed with his boney legs crossed. Chloe, our Golden Retriever, would always sniff and wag her tail in greeting to our scary friend.
Meanwhile, Mom would be inside putting up her decorations: Numerous red and black Halloween figurines and plants. Then, there was Mr. Bones an old skeleton friend who hung off our front door. He has been there before Ryan and I were even born. Mom always told us he wasn’t something to be afraid of. He was there to protect us. Finally, our newly acquired Mr. Funny Bones who sang and moved his jawbone. They were all considered family.
In the late afternoon, Ryan would usually fall asleep playing with his numerous dinosaur and animal toys, and I would doze in the living room couch. I always felt cozy and comfortable while the smell of Mom’s cooking traveled into the room making the house feel warm. The different smells of pies, ginger, pumpkin, and vanilla cookies enveloped my senses.
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