Normally, I save this thought for later in the month, but it just kept nagging at me and I had to get it written so I could get some peace. One of my very favorite things about October is the decorations. I love decorations in general, but from April through September, there isn't really much to do holiday wise. Sure, the fourth of July is in there, but there is only so much one can do with red, white and blue. After an almost six month dry spell, this gal really needs to get her decoration on, and October is there to save the day.
I love everything about October décor. There are so many options. Do you go scary? And if so, is it funny scary, ironic scary, scary scary, gruesome scary or a hodgepodge? If scary isn't your thing, maybe pumpkin everything is. Or perhaps scarecrows. Maybe you are a leaf lover or a fan of the jewel tones. It doesn't matter. October has it all.
I get such a rush taking down the decoration boxes. Opening them up and seeing what is inside is like Christmas morning. Sure, I already know what is going to be in the box, but it is like getting reacquainted with an old friend. Do I put it somewhere new, or do I do the same thing as last year and the year before? It is great coming up with new ideas, or adding a bit of bling to an old favorite.
This year however, there was a touch of melancholy to my decorating fervor. Last October thirtieth my house caught on fire. I had gone all out with the décor, so much so that it bordered a bit on tacky. I just wanted everything on display since I couldn't pick a favorite. I can remember standing in the rubble of the house a few days after the fact. The house was eerily quiet and everything was soot blackened. The plastic pumpkins over the valances had melted and run down the drapes. The haunted village looked like it had been ravaged by monsters. The fake flowers had melted and drooped in their vases and the banners hung in rags from their hooks. It was all so sad. But at the same time, kinda theme. The interior looked like the perfect setting for a haunted house.
It didn't really hit me until a few weeks ago, and then especially Tuesday, the October décor was not going to be the same. Ninety-five percent of my décor was lost in the fire. Things that had major memories attached to them. Now some might think it silly to cry over holiday decorations, but they meant something to me. The five light up pumpkins that always sat on the window ledge, were purchased at Payless on a whim, because I had learned a poem about five pumpkins that day in school and mom thought it would be cute to buy them. There was the haunted house that my grandmother made me that had color changing lights on the inside and made a funny clicking sound at each interval. There was the skeleton snow globe that I bought with money from my first job. I had broken it years before while hastily putting it away, but repurposed the remainder so that I didn't have to part with it. Every decoration had a story and it felt like a part of me was missing this year as I put up the new baubles.
But then I realized, there was a silver lining. Not all of the decorations were destroyed. Some really meaningful things had survived. Like the paper scarecrow who has faded and has a myriad of tape removal marks on one side. Or the leaf garland that is starting to look a bit sparse because each year it loses a little more of its foliage. And already, the new decorations have a history built in. As I go through the years into the future, I will remember that this pumpkin was purchased the year of the fire. Or that new decoration was bought on a whim the day before and wasn't put out yet so it was spared. Already new memories are being made. And, with the new décor, there is a new house. Even if the old décor was around, there are not the same places to put it in. So creativity is needed and encouraged.
I haven't really had to think about the placement of things for a few years now, so it was sorta fun to reimagine what October would look like this year. True, it is a bit sparse and a tad eccentric, but it is a start. It will be fun to build my collection back up and make new memories. And, with the documentation of the October Thoughts, I can revive the past and see those decorations again in my minds eye. A real October miracle.
So, what is your favorite fall/autumn/October/Halloween/harvest decoration? And does it have a story?
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