If there is not a hurricane threatening the coast of Louisiana, October is the best month of the year. I love October. The air goes from a balmy, humid, highs-in-the-90’s to crisp, windy, highs-in-the-70’s. This year, three days after Hurricane Zelda, Halloween Day was one of those perfect weather days.
At my daughter’s house, Leo lay sleeping, their dog was “at camp”, and all the doors were wide open. Grant, my son-in-law, had built a fire in the fire pit. He was drawing Halloween characters in chalk on the sidewalk while a gumbo simmered on the stove.
I’m not sure if it’s being a certain age or the whole weirdness of 2020, but I have been more in tune to finding Joy, and I just felt in my soul this was going to be a Joy-filled day.
I had the privilege of waking Leo from his nap. When I walked in, he was curled around a plush bunny with his heavy diaper sticking up, a pose we call child’s pose in yoga for a reason. I tickled his back, and he slowly woke with an expression of happy anticipation on his sleep-lined face. He knew this was a special day.
Leo’s excitement for this day was increasing by the minute. He was awed by everything, the chalk drawn characters, the costumes, the fake spider hangings, blow-up pumpkins and witches and ghosts. Neighbors dropped by, and he marveled at their children, two little boys one 3 years old and the other 19 months, just his size. (Leo is 22 months) He doesn’t quite play with others as much as they play around each other. But he quickly learned their names and was calling after them when they left.
To prepare for Halloween, I borrowed a butterfly costume from a friend and bought Leo a caterpillar costume from Target. It fit well, and he loved it! His favorite thing to do was run in and out of my flowing butterfly wings. He says “flutterfly” and “paterpillar.”
My greatest joy was walking hand in hand down the street while Leo talked nonstop, “Light! Pumpkin! People! Man! Excited!” Every word he knew in a stream of exclamation.
These are frightening times we are living in, but in the eyes of a toddler holding hands with his grandmother, life is full of Joy and Wonder.
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Reflections on the Teche 