Happy Halloween from Sleepy Hollow country.

I've taken up my post for the afternoon down at the gallery, leaving Tim at home to carve pumpkins, make corn chowder, delegate some clean-up, and accommodate unreasonable last-minute costume manufacturing requests. I'll show up right around the time the fun begins.

Pizza for the kids, a parade around the park with an assortment of instruments, some neighborhood trick-or-treating with the little ones. Then the "big kids" will get to go off on their own, while the grown-ups retire to our places around the fire pit to wait for their return with the loot.

I'm more than a little conflicted this year about how much freedom to give them (the kids, not the grown-ups), and exactly who qualifies as a "big kid" in this instance. I feel that I'm always struggling with the balance between "it's all in fun" and "oh, please, don't let them get hurt."

I feel really lucky that all of us-kids + grown-ups alike-have our friends to go through it all, together.

Here's wishing you all a safe, fun, happy evening. Thanks for reading.
tt