Thank you to Minute Maid and Socialstarts for sponsoring this #doingood ย #minutemaid campaign.
Halloween has always been a fun time in our family. When I was little, my mom would ALWAYS make a big deal out of Trick or Treating. We would get dressed up in the cutest homemade costumes that either she made or had our aunt or grandmother make for us. One year I was a cute clown, one year a dancer, one year, a fairy. I always remember being proud of my creative costume. We would even deck out our house in non-scary decorations and had the best carved pumpkins around. We would spend a whole afternoon during the week leading up to Halloween carving the best design around. It really was a fun time! As I got older, I still celebrated Halloween with awesome costumes for dress up days at work or parties with friends. My mom always helped. It was just our thing.
So, when I had my own children, I was determined to make it the best time for them, as well. I would find the most creative costumes and deck out our house. It was awesome for them! But, as they got older and life got busier, I slacked a little. Sometimes the pumpkins wouldn’t get carved until right before Trick or Treat night and the costumes were store bought. At first I felt really guilty for not going all out. Like I wasn’t a good mom for not having the most creative costume or best carved pumpkin. Most years, I am not that great at decorating either. It’s not that I don’t want to do all those great things, it’s just that I find that it’s harder and harder each year to fit it all in. With school, after school activities, work and more…there’s just not enough hours in the day. I used to feel so bad and guilty. I would beat myself up about it and not really enjoy the time as much as I should since the kids had on store bought costumes – even though they cost more than a homemade one would have cost.
But, I finally decided that it wasn’t worth being so hard on myself. That if I was doing the very best I could that I really was #doingood. So, I made new traditions. We would go and pick out our costumes together at the store. Sometimes they coordinate. Sometimes they don’t. It’s ok. I pick out the prettiest mums I can find with some great big pumpkins and dress up my porch for fall. It’s ok that it’s not all homemade and that my house isn’t decked out inside and out. I’m still #doingood in the eyes of my children. They love it!
They love that we’re together going up and down the streets in our neighborhood, taking pictures along the way and yelling out “Trick or Treat” all night long. It’s fun for them AND it’s fun for me! We always end the evening by leaving a little time to head back home, eat a big bowl of soup I’ve had on in the crockpot and give out candy to kids that come to our house. My kids LOVE to do that. They love giving out candy that they’ve been given to other kids. It’s fun for them and they feel like they’re giving back. I’d say that’s a #win!
While life may not always be Pinterest perfect, we can only do the best we can do and that’s okay. We’re all #doingood by caring. Why don’t you take a minute this Halloween and tell another parent that they’re #doingood – when you see them struggling with their 2 year old on the street while they just want toย run off, give them a word of encouragement. When you see that mom walking alone while her almost pre-teen kids left her behind, tell her how she’s #doingood. Whatever you think may help encourage another parent when they need it most – be that voice that reminds them that we’re all in this together – that we’re all #doingood