Our family has many holiday traditions. Our Halloween tradition began about 6 or 7 years ago. We get together on a weekend before Halloween and carve pumpkins.
My brother, Brian and I go to a pumpkin patch and carefully select the perfect pumpkins. Mom and Dad get dinner together while we are out. Mom finds the patterns from last year, and just in case they are in a safe place she can't remember, I always buy one or two more books with the carving utensils.
My nephew is five now, but his first pumpkin was carved when he was about 6 months old. That Halloween, he was dressed in his brand new Halloween pjs and we sat him on the table. We put his hands in the goo and seeds from the inside of the pumpkins. The look on his face was one of joy and confusion as he squished the slime between his little fingers.
Brian looks so cute as he concentrates on getting the pattern just right. You can almost see his tongue sticking out a little to one side as he focuses on the task. I usually just get to pick the pattern and he takes over from there. I wouldn't mind doing a little of the carving and each year I think I should just get one for each of us, but I never do. I suppose I secretly enjoy the zeal with which he attacks the project, even if I don't really get to help much. Besides, if the knife slips and he cuts something important off, I get to blame him for the oops. Hee hee.
This year, we went together to the Farmer's Market to select our canvases. I love the fall and everything that goes with it, so I couldn't resist some of the smaller gourds and dried corn for an arrangement on the mantle. I love the different textures on the surfaces of the squashes and the colors--greens, golds, and oranges. Zachary wanted a little pumpkin too, selecting an orange and white one. He insisted that this one would not be carved, however.
It was difficult, but we got Zachary to eat a bit of dinner before we started our project. We spread an old shower curtain on Mom and Dad's table and set out the bowls, spoons and knives. Zachary and I had already selected the patterns we wanted to use this year. A bat for me, a goofily grinning jack-o-lantern for Z-man. David went out on his own and drew a "T" for the Texas Rangers baseball team. An added addition to the family tradition this year was watching the Rangers clinch the right to play in the World Series for the second year in a row.
Brian and David got to work cutting the tops off, so we could clean out the insides of the pumpkins. Zachary jumped around in the background wearing his new Halloween outfit, a cowboy vest and chaps. The pumpkins were very thick, so the boys had to work to get them cleaned out.
When we started carving, the thickness of the pumpkins continued to prove challenging, and Zachary, despite my mother's best efforts, was bent on carving his pumpkin himself. He sawed quickly but not so carefully at times, as his motor skills are developing. In order to keep him from being upset, David and Brian got out the toothpicks and did a little reconstructive surgery to save the pumpkin.
We had one more pumpkin to go, and Zachary wanted to help with that one as well. The game was too good to miss, so my dad was reluctant to help him. No worries. I can listen to the game and help carve, as Zachary suggested in the first place. It's all about him, you know.
Zachary did a pretty good job sawing on the pattern, but by then his interest had dwindled. He was more interested in eating now that he was finally hungry and putting his costume back on.
Unfortunately despite my best efforts, I broke off an important part of the last pumpkin, and though we did some reconstruction with toothpicks, I suspect that it won't last long.
Ultimately, we had quality family time, and the Rangers are on their way to the World Series. Now, that's a tradition worth keeping.
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