Day five without Daddy, and this mama has had it up to here. The discipline load was so heavy today that we hardly cracked a book in school. By 4 p.m., I was thinking, 'It's either time for me to get drunk, or throw out the daily plan and do something fun.'Just kidding about that first option, friends. I haven't been drunk in 12 years and the only alcohol I ever buy is for cooking (though even cooking wine looked good today). Of course, we decided to do something fun.
Back in October when we were visiting our friend's village, we picked a pumpkin. It has been sitting by our front door for almost two months now, looking all pale and twisty and classy. The kids begged me all through October to carve it up into a Jack-O-Lantern, but I just couldn't bear to demote my lovely pumpkin from classy to tacky.
Today, I took a knife, and Christmas Season be that as it may, I stuck the flesh of my poor, unsuspecting squash (who had grown to trust me, I sadly think) and in a flurry I carved a classic Jack-O-Lantern face while my kids squealed with delight. Afterward, the pumpkin and I stared each other down, my sardonic smile matching his, tooth for tooth. What can I say? I'd had a tough week, and the pumpkin was past its prime. It was a perfect storm.
We stuck a candle in him, curled a red ribbon around his stem, and put him back by the front door, where he will stay until the New Year, I'm sure. The kids named him Jack.
Jack, the Christmas Jack-O-Lantern.
Better than AA.
