Nothing is “normal” these days…which is why celebrating our favorite holidays is so important this year. That’s the sentiment expressed in Let’s plan on Halloween, an uplifting read from author Leslie Ann Tarabella. Her essay begins:
“Driving down Government Street in Mobile on the second week of August I liked to have popped my pearls. There, in front of an old historic home was a lawn full of Halloween decorations. Not just pretty pumpkins and stalks of dusty corn, but the yell-in-your-face variety of blow up, blinking, billowing vampires, goblins and skeletons.
“As much as I detest such things, I was surprised that a sense of peace and happiness flooded my soul. If I had squinted hard enough and clenched my jaw, I could have almost made it into a religious experience because in the midst of the pandemic, it was a joyful reminder that everything’s going to be OK. The world is still spinning and children still love candy and adults still like driving me crazy by putting out their decorations at the wrong time of the year. I smell normalcy in the air.”
Later in the essay Tarabella writes: “…we need a good-all-American wholesome Halloween this year more than ever…. We need it all because we just need to plan on a little bit of innocent fun.”
It’s a quick read, and one that can lift your mood as you contemplate the season ahead. Click here to read the whole thing.
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