Photo courtesy of Red
| Ghosts, goblins, and pumpkins are everywhere you look! Not the ads and not the neighborhood; I’m
talking about my decorations. Plus, I indulge
in all the Halloween-theme food (OK, really all the pumpkin spice things) because I love Halloween!
But I also love all the Halloween memories, which I’m reminded of every time I look out the window of my “workroom” and see our annual Halloween inflatable. And I’m not the only one who loves it because over the years, whenever it gets “old and tired” (I can relate), my daughters have insisted I replace it with an identical one. At over 6 feet tall, it towers over me, and the three ghosts popping out of a pumpkin are scary but in a friendly way. But the best part? On any given day, I can hear little kids in our neighborhood walking by with their mom or dad and stopping and “squealing” with delight. Which makes me smile because I know it’s becoming a future memory for them. My other outdoor decoration doesn’t seem to get quite the same attention, although it always makes me smile. As in every single time I pull into my driveway. You’d think, after all these years, this witch would know how to drive, but clearly not. Or maybe she was just distracted by the ghosts. |
| I have always loved Red’s “bad driver” witch, partly because
I love all things driving-related (OK, I will ignore the fact she crashed), but
also because it originally was my decoration when I was married, and my
stepdaughters were young. People (of all ages) who celebrate Halloween may enjoy the decorations, candy (we all have our favorites), or even trick or treating, but my favorite part was always the candy-swapping negotiations. Originally, when Red and I were growing up, then my stepdaughters, and ultimately Red’s daughters. It is interesting how sibling rivalries and differences are put aside on Halloween and replaced with very business-like trade negotiations. Not to mention strategizing over return visits to houses that have the best candy. |
Red
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Black
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And our Halloween wishes for you? (Guess who wrote “witch” one!)
- No matter what you choose to do today or how you celebrate, we wish you a happy and safe Halloween and hope you have an opportunity to create wonderful memories for the years to come.
- Trick or treat? Why not both? Happy Halloween!
October is Bat Appreciation Month, and while most people associate bats with Halloween, they remind Red of something very different and far more important: her daughter, Natasha, a memorable trip to Austin, and a surprising decision by Black.
What started with thousands of bats flying out from under Austin's Congress Avenue Bridge eventually led to Natasha and Black getting their first — and matching tattoos. Of a bat. (Yes, Black has a tattoo!) It's a family story about memories, unexpected connections, and how something as unusual as bats can become surprisingly meaningful. | Thanks for sending me Natasha's Austin-inspired business plan. But while I know that's her future, I can't help but think about the first time I took her to Austin. |
| All I remember is that it was love at first sight. |
| It was on our way home from taking Sawyer to camp, and I told her we were making a slight "detour". She was so excited when I pulled up to the hotel, as she's always loved hotels. But that night, as we walked onto Congress Avenue Bridge and saw thousands and thousands of bats fly out into the sunset, she was mesmerized and "in love". |
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Blackassets.rebelmouse.io | Although I knew about the bats (the largest urban colony of bats in the world), if it were not for Natasha, I never would have planned a trip to Austin to see them. But having watched her watching the bats, I was not surprised, years later, when her first tattoo was a bat. |
| That may not have been surprising, but I was shocked when, a few weeks later, you decided to get a tattoo that was identical to hers. I didn't know that you were such a fan of bats. |
| It was not the bats; it was the fact that it was identical to he tat. Although, I think Natasha and I should add a few more bats. And this time, do it in Austin. |
| It's amazing how so many of my memories of the girls growing up are connected to Austin. |
| Funny thing is, whenever I would be there with you and the girls, and they would "drag" me to that old-time candy store at the top of Congress, I would see things I had not seen since we were little, so would be reminded of us as children. |
| That's always one of the first places they'd want to go to in Austin. That and Green Mesquite BBQ. They both loved Austin, and it wasn't like going to a large city, where there are so many places to go and sights to see. They were always happy to go back to the same familiar places and enjoy simple things, like that snowcone truck or even just walking around downtown. |
| For as long as I can remember, Austin has always been a foodie town. And, it had food trucks before they became popular around the country. Austin has a unique culture, which may be why the girls, but especially Natasha, love it. Its "Keep Austin Weird" vibe not only makes it the perfect place for her, but has provided some great ideas for her business concept. |
| I'll leave the business analysis to you. I know that she's doing that as part of her studies in the U.K., but I prefer to think about the great times we've had in Austin. And the mom in me thinks she'd be very happy to make Austin her home one day. |
| Especially as that's where millions of her beloved Austin bats live. |
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