linda fetch

The weather in eastern San Diego county has not exactly been “autumnal” this October: half the month the high temperature during the day has been over 90 degrees. Fortunately with the shorter days and low humidity, the nights have been cooling off enough to be comfortable.

But this time of year used to be my favorite. Most holidays have been pretty much ruined by commercialization: certainly Christmas, Thansgiving, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and Easter at least. The 4th of July and Labor Day are just intended for family picnics and parties with a lot of beer being consumed, which is just fine.

The only holiday which had a chance of being special for kids was Halloween. Of course, the marketers have done everything they could to ruin it to, but there is still something a little special about it.

I used to really love this holiday and decorate the house inside and out to the hilt. In fact storing the decorations and goodies the rest of the year was beginning to crowd out a lot of other stuff. It was fun and touching to see little kids being shepherded around by their doting parents and having fun being scared a little here and there.

But with the vandalism of our house this past year, I’ve been too nervous to do any decorating. Maybe it’s a silly reaction but I just can’t get the enthusiasm up for it like I used to be able to.