I No Longer “Should” On Early Seasonal Decorators

I confess. I used to feel kind of judgy towards people who don’t wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas. I suppose I was “shoulding” on them. Don’t hate me; my attitude has changed.

While I’m not an all-out Christmas decorator, I absolutely LOVE Halloween. Each fall I decorate my front porch all cutesy with mums, pansies, cornstalks, and pumpkins; then on October 31, I transform my beautiful autumnal theme into a creepy haunted yard. I’d wait until Halloween to get my scary on so that the Trick or Treaters would be surprised. And on November 1, I’d remove all of the Halloween stuff. So, I only enjoyed Halloween decor for one day. #sadface

Last year we missed Halloween entirely. Long story short, hubs had a near-fatal heart attack on Halloween morning. I spent my favorite day of the year sitting with him in the ICU, thanking God for putting many healthcare heroes in our path.

And now here we are in September 2021. The pandemic is still a serious thing, I see tempers flaring everywhere (especially online), and I am weary of it all.

I need a shot of Halloween, STAT. Since Labor Day, I’ve been on YouTube searching for spooky decorating ideas. And then last week I saw this in the grocery store parking lot.

I created a story about the owner of this car. This person must love Halloween as much as I do! I need to get to know this person. It would be great to have coffee and share Halloween memories. I bet we’d be great friends.

For all I know, the owner could be a science teacher, but I choose to believe he or she is prepping for the most fun day of the year.

Halloween 2020 taught me not to postpone joy. I’m going to prep my haunted yard much earlier this year. And for all of you who decorate for Christmas in early November, I see you and I now understand you. I celebrate that you are not postponing your joy.

#BecomingShouldless