Harvest Over Halloween

In middle school, I spent an entire day as a bag of jelly beans.

The costume was a clear plastic garbage bag filled with balloons of different colors, with me in the middle. Sitting down was quite the challenge, and an even bigger spectacle. I had to push all the balloons to the front just to squeeze into my desk, and a couple of them popped the first time I tried. My classmates were more than happy to help me pop a few more.

I squeaked around in it all day anyway and made it into the top three of the costume contest. The winner, if I remember right, was a kid dressed as a robot … or was it a refrigerator?

Halloween was one of the few school days that were simply fun. We dressed in costumes, ate junk food, and did very little “regular” schoolwork. That mattered, because I could do without the rest of fall. It meant the end of summer break and the return of band practice before school. I loved band; I just didn’t love the alarm clock waking me up while it was still dark. Worst of all, the sun went down early. I was an outdoorsy kid, and summer meant long evenings playing outside. In fall, the dark came even before dinner was ready.

The Costume Party

Over the years, the fun of Halloween faded, but I still liked dressing up now and then for work or social events, and I enjoyed the creative side of putting a costume together.

Then came the fall of 2021. The day before Halloween, my sister and brother-in-law invited quite a few family members and friends to their house for a costume party. It was one of the biggest gatherings I’d been to since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and it was nice to finally feel like things were getting back to normal. We had a bonfire, more food than we could eat, and lots of fun costumes to admire. I went as a mime. It was a good time.

The next morning, Halloween, I rushed my cat to the vet for an emergency. By the end of that day, two family members weren’t feeling well. Within a week, about half of the people who had been at the party were sick with COVID, including me and my immediate family. My cat struggled all that week and never recovered, so I had to put her to sleep. Days later, my mom was hospitalized with a severe case of COVID, while I was sick and isolated at home. It was a long, hard three weeks. That was the last time I wore a costume.

Halloween hasn’t felt the same since. As an adult, I’ve grown uncomfortable with how much of the holiday centers on darkness, death, and fear. That fall made it personal. For me, fear isn’t fun, and neither are sickness and death. I’d rather celebrate life and all the reasons it’s good to be alive.

That Thanksgiving

Two days before Thanksgiving, my mom was released from the hospital. The rest of us had pretty much recovered by then, but she was still on oxygen, and it would be many more weeks before she was fully well. We had just barely enough time to throw a Thanksgiving together. Somehow, with a little help, she still made her famous stuffing and a few pumpkin pies. But the best part, and the biggest blessing that year, was simply having her there with us.

That Thanksgiving meant more to me than any before it. We weren’t the only ones going through a hard season. So many families had struggled through that year and the year before, and some had lost people they loved. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving (opens in a new tab) in October 1863, in the middle of the Civil War and just months after the Battle of Gettysburg, while the country was still mourning its losses. Gratitude was never meant only for the easy times. In fact, hard times often bring what matters most into focus.

Why Thanksgiving Won

These days, fall is my favorite season. It’s the season of harvest, a word that carries only good meanings for me. The light turns everything golden, and I can finally open the windows for fresh air and bake without fighting the air conditioning. Chili, chicken soup, and baked apples with cinnamon are my go-to comfort foods this time of year. To me, that’s what harvest means: taking the blessings we’ve been given and turning them into something we can enjoy and share with others.

When I was a kid, my favorite holiday was Christmas. As an adult, it’s Thanksgiving, because it’s so simple and positive. It’s about food, gathering, family, and being grateful for the big things and the little things. Turkey and all the trimmings are great, but nothing beats my mom’s pumpkin pie. A slice of pie is a little thing. Having my mom there to make it is a big thing.

I still love Christmas, but these days Thanksgiving barely gets its turn. Halloween won’t leave, and Christmas can’t wait. One of my neighbors down the road has had a giant skeleton standing in the yard since last fall, and I drive past it every day. I’ve seen a few other houses just put a Santa hat on theirs and call it Christmas decor. I’m hoping this is the year they all finally get to rest in peace. Meanwhile, stores put up Christmas decorations before Halloween even arrives, and long before Thanksgiving, we’re flooded with Christmas ads on TV and in the mail.

That’s too bad, because for me, the order matters. Every year, I play 2021 back in my mind: the darkness of Halloween, then the harvest of Thanksgiving, then the lights of Christmas. Rushing straight from Halloween to Christmas skips the most important step. Thanksgiving is my day to slow down, recognize what I have, and think about what I value most.

As a kid, I hated that in fall the dark came before dinner was ready. Honestly, I still do. But I’ve learned that gratitude has a way of making even the shortest days feel full.

Written by me, in my own words. Structure and line edits with help from Claude, an AI assistant. Image created with Claude and Canva AI.