Monthly Musing – October 2022 – Keeping up with tradition ::::::: Blogtober 2022 : Day 31

“Do you think this will be the last year you’ll want to carve pumpkins?”

I’ve been watching my girls as they have been standing together at the kitchen worktop, hollowing out large pumpkins and drawing faces on them ready to carve.  There’s a large bowl between them on the table, gradually filling up with the insides of the pumpkin and more seeds than you can shake a stick at (and more of them on the floor than I’d like too!).   This is something they’ve been doing together since they were both small, when the three of us would carve the pumpkins between us (them in a more supervisory role until it was safe for them to handle knives) and now they no longer need me to help with the pumpkin-innards removal or using a knife or even make helpful suggestions about faces.

They’re both far better than me at giving pumpkins faces and I put this down to my years of having only swedes to hollow out at Hallowe’en.  They’re bored of my stories of cutting eyes with potato peelers and the smell of singed swede and candlewax these days.  Gone are the Hallowe’en nights when I could persuade them to bob for apples like I did, or throw apple peel over their shoulders to discover their true love’s initial.  Goodness, we must have gone through a fair few apples when I was younger!

Instead, I’m sitting at the table and listening as they’re chatting away, teasing each other about boys and boyfriends, discussing music and their days at college and work.  I’m forgotten as they become entirely immersed in their conversation and the task at hand.  It’s lovely!  They get on so well together and it makes my heart full to bursting with happiness to see them like this.

I did wonder this year if they would take more persuading to carve their pumpkins but they were both ready to make a start when I brought the pumpkins in from the car where they have been keeping cool for the last week or so.  I love that they are both keen on keeping up with our family traditions (not just Hallowe’en but at other times of the year too) and I wonder if they will pass them on to their own families one day, adding their own touches to make them unique to their families.  Not so small daughter has told me very firmly that she will not be having any children but I said the same at that age so we’ll wait and see!  For now, they are happy following our own family tradition, and I am glad that this year, at least, they didn’t want to stop.  Next year, though?

“Do you think this will be the last year you’ll want to carve pumpkins?”

My question catches them by surprise.  They look at each other, then back at me.

“Absolutely not!”

I won’t mention giving up on Christmas stockings, then!