There’s nothing like fighting the crowds at the local pumpkin farm to put one in the mood for Halloween.
It’s become a bit of a tradition in our family to hit up the local “Barn” for apple cider, pony rides, a turn through the hay maze, and finishing it off with cookies. This year, the local hangout was even busier than usual, the result of, I’m sure, their new expanded locale.
We parked amongst sunflowers and maneuvered around crowds of families. We fed the goats and then wandered into the maze. The maze itself was a diabolical masterpiece created to give one the impression the exit was right there. No. Over there. No. Back there. Wait. Where are we?
Sound was muffled with that many bales of hay. It felt as if we were the only people in the maze until we rounded a corner to find another troop of bewildered children and parents coming towards us. When we got out – hay in our hair and sticking to our clothes – the kids wanted to go right back in.
It made me think of all the traditions we’re beginning with our children and all the memories we’re making. Will they sit at dinner with their own spouses and children and laugh about the time Grandma got lost in the hay maze? Will they look at pictures and marvel that they were ever so small a pumpkin made a perfect seat? Will they remember the goats, the pies, the ice cream? Will the remember running through bales of hay, hiding behind a corner to scare their cousin?
I hope so. After all, one of my primary purposes as their mother is to create an amazing childhood full of rich memories. And battling a crowded pumpkin farm is one way to do it.
What are your fall traditions?
