Why November Fifth is Special

Did you know that pumpkins can be carved after October 31st? It's a fact. We proved it just this afternoon.

I shall begin by admitting that I tend to be a bit of a procrastinator. This year, October was rather busy (you know, all that sitting I had to do), so the whole pumpkin thing kept getting pushed back and back until it somehow accidentally became November. Oops.

My dear children know that their mother is a procrastinator. So it didn't seem at all strange when, on the first day of November, I agreed to the idea of picking up some pumpkins. They were thrilled. (The children, not the pumpkins.)

You can imagine their disappointment, however, when we arrived at the local farm fifteen minutes after they had closed. Bummer and rats.

So I was relieved to drive by the farm early this morning and see that there were still several bins of pumpkins left over.

I passed this precious bit of information on to my obliging husband, and by late afternoon our children found themselves merrily digging through muddy pumpkins at a mostly deserted pumpkin patch.

That sounds rather pathetic. But believe me, they were pleased as Punch.

When we got home, they scooped and carved as though it was perfectly normal to scoop and carve on November 5th.

They roasted the seeds as though it was perfectly normal to roast seeds on November 5th. In fact, I'm snacking on seeds right now, as though it's perfectly normal to snack on seeds on November 5th.

And guess what? Kid pumpkins look just as cute on the mantle whether it's October 31st or November 5th.

I think that's one of the great things about being a mom. Because moms can make any day special. Even November 5th.