Welcome to October!

Oh my gosh, the heat has subsided! We may have had to deal with multiple dreary days filled with rain, but I think after the brutal heat of this summer, it has been a welcomed change. October brings cooler temperatures and many family activities offered in our area. October is also the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Many, many lives have been affected by this disease, so even something as simple as a prayer would be appreciated. The annual Buddy Walk is upon us and is a great way to spend some outdoor time and get some exercise! Please learn more about this wonderful and rewarding event and how to participate; I urge you to take a moment to read this month’s Buddy Walk spotlight and come out on October 11th.

Speaking of participating, I think I will take lasts months message of slowing down and spending quality time with friends and family one step further. This month’s Halloween celebration is a prime opportunity to not only spend time with your family, but also to relax, let go, and have fun with them. Instead of merely making sure that your children have wonderful costumes, make sure that you have one too! I know, I know...you don’t have time, or somebody might see you, your too tired, or you just think its goofy. Being goofy is half of the fun and if you have young children, it’s the part that they will really understand! Seeing you dressed up, especially if they get to help, will be just as exciting to them as being in their own costumes. It will also provide a lasting memory that will talked about for years.

When I was a child, the neighborhood fathers decided to get together and put on a haunted house. They each dressed up, went trick or treating with their kids, and then met at the community pool where the haunted house was for everybody to enjoy. I was very young at the time, in fact, too young and frightened to walk through the haunted house, but I can remember that my father was Frankenstein (and a good one at that, these dads weren’t messing around!) Now that I think about it, I remember one father was an escaped crazed ape, another was a frogman-like sea creature swimming in and out of the pool, and another was a lunatic scientist host for the house. That particular Halloween I went dressed up as……I have absolutely idea. My best friend, who’s father was the crazed Ape, I have no recollection what he was dressed as. How is that for a lasting impression on a child? I can’t remember what my friends were dressed as, but I can remember the Dad’s costumes and even other specifics about the haunted house! Point is, the parents did something special that year, they participated with their children and the neighborhood kids, and although it may have been scary - it made that Halloween a lasting memory because our fathers and “the adults” dressed up just like us!

I’m not saying that you have to dress up for Halloween, much less put on a haunted house. I am simply encouraging you to participate in the events and things that your kids are involved in, whatever their age, and whatever that may be. You may find it very rewarding on different levels and even if they don’t act like it now, they will benefit from it. Take advantage of the cooler weather, as Tom says feed the birds, and enjoy this great community that we are lucky to call home. Thank you for reading AYC!

Geoff Spahr
Publisher AYC