October 31

This Halloween was a wee bit different. I had just one kid in the elementary school costume parade this morning. Then this evening, one kid went to a party at a friend's house while the other two trick-or-treated with buddies and then headed off to a sleepover. The end result is an oddly quiet evening for Adam and I as we sit on the couch and watch TV; there's no one counting candy, no one brokering fruit-flavored versus chocolate trades. No one sneaking in extra doses of sugar before bed. It feels a little stark and strange.

As the old saying goes, "nothing endures but change", and that's certainly had a distinctive ring of truth to it for me this year. But although variables change and kids grow up, underneath it all, the really important things stay the same:

And the important thing is this: I love the sloth and the Thanos and the Flash and the Lambie in this picture. And they love the '80s flashback girl. And we all love the guy who wasn't home from work yet when I made everyone throw on their costumes so I could get this pic before Abby headed off to her party.

So although we'll all continue to age and there will be more parties and more friends and more activities and more events that will keep us apart at times, we'll always have that love and a sizable roladex of fun memories to hold us together. And for those things, I'm grateful.