Made a decision

[Winnie Sanderson]

I have been soooo sad about Halloween passing by.....The truth is that this year I was unable to really celebrate my favorite day of the year. I have a chronic disease that causes me alot of pain and constant exhaustion. I was not even able to pull out my decorations and decorate like I normally do. I did not bake or make spooky food like I have in the past, I didn't even carve a pumpkin.

There were so many things that I wanted to be able to do and couldn't. It made me really depressed but I have decided that I am not going to let Halloween go just yet. I have decided that I can make a spooky Halloween gingerbread house in November if I want to.....I plan on making caramel apples.....painting a haunted bird house.....carving a pumpkin.....After all Halloween is never really gone if you have it in your heart.


My season was not all bad though....I got a wonderful exchange gift from the fabulous EvilMel. I saved it for Halloween night to open and it was great. I will post pictures when I can.

My son went ToTing for the first REAL time(we tried last year and it was a disaster). He really understood the concept this year and he kept asking if we could keep going. (He is 5 and has Autism) The best part of Halloween for me was that he told me what he wanted to be this year which was Bob the Builder. When the night was over he said to me "momma is Halloween all done?" I said "yes baby" He said "momma I want halloween to be tomorrow again."
How awesome is that? Especially since we were told he would never really understand the concept of holidays....

I can't post as much as I would like but I love reading all of your posts. This is my favorite website and I will probably never leave here. There are so many great people here and I would miss you all too much. So even if you don't see me posting that much know that I am thinking of all my favorite Halloweeners....LOL

[LawP]

Winnie, I'm so glad you're still around - even as a lurker You go ahead with your bad self and celebrate Novemberween! Please take pictures of your haunted gingerbread house and all the other lovely things you plan on doing. Glad your son enjoyed his Halloween - sounds like you've created a future poster on Halloween.com. Take care and I hope you get to feeling better.

[Succub'Oz]

I'm sorry you haven't been feeling well. You can celebrate Halloween any 'ol time you want. October 31st is just a date. Like you said if you keep Halloween in your heart then you just go for it! I've been really worried about Christmas lately because of finances and other reasons but if I have to make it up in July, Christmas dinner and all then that's okay. I'm sure you're presence will be missed here. In the end you have to do what is best for you and for your son. Just know we'll all be thinking of you and wishing you well and try to give us a word when you can.

[kallie0509]

it seems that this halloween was a little lack-luster for a few of us, but we've gotta keep the spirit alive! someone else suggested a novemberween, this is a great idea to make up for lost halloween time!

[One Eye'd Jack]

Winnie, you know we all love you here and not being able to enjoy the things you really like when you want to can be very emotionally draining.
I love the idea of doing Halloween things whenever the mood strikes. It's like I always try to keep in mind: Halloween isn't just a holiday but a state of mind.

Lots of love!

[tomanderson]

Yes, yes Winnie, join us for NOVEMBERWEEN. It's happening right now, and all you have to do is feel the Halloween spirit and do those festive things that strike your fancy.

[Cadaverino]

Happy Novemberween, Winnie! It's good people like you that keep this world spinnin' around (not to mention the jack-o'-lanterns). Very touching to hear about how your son took to the holiday like we all have.

You get your rest. Pop in whenever the mood strikes you. We're here for you.

[Dutchess of Darkness]

Hey Winnie, I'm glad you're sticking around cause Halloween isn't over Baby! It can be all year long I'm so happy to hear that your still going to celebrate it, I love your gingerbread house idea, can't wait to see your pictures. And I can totally relate with you on the health matters, I too suffer from several Chronic & Acute health problems and live with dibilitating pain and severe fatigue 24/7, I hate it. My Halloween Decorations are still all piled on top of my washer and dryer cause with everything thats going on I am just so tired and such bad muslce and joint pain that I don't have any energy. If you ever need someone to talk to or listen to you or just a shoulder to lean on or and ear to confide in feel free to pm me anytime ok. And I loved hearing about your son getting into the Halloween spirit this year. When I did my practicum I worked with 3 boys, 1 had severe Autism, 1 had Asperger's Syndrome and FAS and the 3rd had Downs and FAS, and although those above me tried to tell me what they could and couldn't learn, understand etc, what I personally found were that those " Professionals" were in my opinon the ones who were disabling them, not once did I find in working with any of those boys that they were incapable of doing anything you wanted to teach them or get them to understand, rather it was simply a case of modifying how you presented the material to them, you see, each of them were fully capable of great accomplishments, it was the willingness of those who worked with them to be willing to see the world through their eyes and tailor your teaching methods accordingly, they each just learned in their own unique way that is all "what works for one, doesn't work for them all" know what I mean, I actually put in one of my papers that I had to write while in practicum that I found that it wasn't the students who had any disintegrative disorder but those who were teaching him who appeared to exhibit impairment with thier inability to think outside the box among other issues. I guess what I'm trying to say is " any child can progress beyond the wildest dreams of those who try to confine them within the limits of a label as long as they have someone who is willing to rebel against those stigmas and realize the true gifts they hold, and with that, they can set the world on fire with Excitement and creative abilities"
I truly hope your son continues to love all the blessings of the Halloween season and I hope one day he decides to help you decorate, I hope he had a wonderful time TOTing, by the way, I love his choice of Bob the Builder

[MHooch]

Winnie, sweetie, we all love you, and wish you well. What a great story about your son, I'm SOOOO glad that he had a good Halloween. You have fun doing Novemberween. I think I'll carve another pumpkin
Take care!

Hugs from Hooch

[magickbean]

Hey Winnie it's good to see you here, albeit not so often - I love seeing your posts too, and I hope that you have a wonderful Novemberween! I would love to see pics of your gingerbread house and your pumpkin when you carve it, as long as there are people out there loving Halloween and thinking Halloween and celebrating Halloween all year long, it's never really over

That's why I love this place so much. People don't think you're crazy if you talk about Halloween at any time and at any length hehe

That is so cute that your little boy loves Halloween - autism is so complex I don't think that even the specialists can predict how it will affect a child, so it's wonderful that he is fully capable of understanding the concept of Halloween. Here's hoping that this is one of many beautiful memories of Halloween night that you can share together

Love and hugs and get well wishes xx

[Catzilla]

Many prayers for your health Winnie & may next Halloween be everything ya want it to be !