Hey guys! We are now in the true depths of fall. Here at Ball State it has been freezing cold. It even snowed on Halloween! This time of year is always incredibly festive and is cause of great nostalgia. Because of this, I thought this would be an opportune time to share some of my favorite fall memories with you.

Going in chronological order of fall and winter holidays, my favorite Halloween memory occurred when I was about seven or eight years old. I had wanted to be a witch so bad. My mom and I went to a Halloween costume shop and purchased the costume. Come to find out, it was INCREDIBLY itchy. (For reference, this was a time in my life I was really sensitive to materials, and wouldn’t even wear jeans. So this was completely unbearable.) I was so disappointed because we had bought a stick-on witch’s nose and a really tall hat with grey and purple hair streaming down from it. I loved the hat the most, and really wanted to wear it. The problem was, I was supposed to go trick-or-treating with my dad and cousins that night in my great grandma’s neighborhood.

At this point I began panicking and fussing that I didn’t have anything to wear. My grandmother (both saddened and irritated) went upstairs, dug around for a minute or two, and found and old white sheet she (claimed) she didn’t need anymore. She said I could be a ghost, but I really wanted to wear the witch’s hat. She said I could be the ghost of a witch, and that made me really happy. From there I jumped on board with her idea. She let me help her cut the eye holes in just the right places, then proceeded to take the sheet back upstairs and hem it so it wouldn’t drag on the ground. I was really pleased with how well this last-minute costume was turning out.

Here comes my FAVORITE part of this story! So here I am, a little kid, fully covered by a sheet and a witch’s hat. I’m walking throughout this neighborhood with my dad and my little cousin, when suddenly I hear screaming. I look up and this SUPER tall guy in a sheet and a pirate’s hat is screaming, “OH LOOK! IT’S MY LONG LOST BROTHER!” Of course I didn’t initially think he was talking about me because I’m a girl (obviously). But when I considered what I was wearing, I understood how I could be easily mistaken for a boy. I thought it was so funny this guy wore basically the same costume a little girl did. It turns out my dad happened to know him (and he did correct him by saying I was his daughter, Taylor). That is definitely my favorite Halloween memory because it shows the love my grandmother has for me and the weirdness of other human beings at its finest.

My other favorite outdoor fall memory occurred when I was about nine or ten. My grandpa needed help cleaning up leaves from his yard (there are a TON of trees on their property) and asked if I would be willing to help a couple of days in advance. When we went to the store, I saw bags for leaves that were transparent orange pumpkins with green tops that looked really cool when you finally sealed the bag up. He (surprisingly) agreed to get them for us, and I was delighted to help rake leaves because the more I collected, the fatter the pumpkin got, and the more decorations my grandparents had for in front of their grey farmhouse. We ended up with three or four pumpkins full, and both cherish the bonding time we had together to this day.