I’m embarrassed to admit how much time and fuel I’ve spent these past few weeks driving my toddler around this town looking at Halloween decorations. But on Sunday, the unexpected purpose of it all came into focus.
It was a tradition we started on a limited basis last fall but this year it really took off. We developed a route we would take to drive by certain homes with cool decorations. The more (and flashier), the better.
But then several houses in our immediate neighborhood put up decorations. We started saving those for last, right before we parked the car.
Then on Sunday, after enjoying the mild temperatures at Roush Park before the rain, we made a walking pass by the decorations in the vicinity. Some were “awake” or turned on and inflated while others were not (it was the middle of the afternoon, afterall, but try explaining that to a threenager).
As we walked down the street holding hands, my son grew giddy over a bunch of fallen yellow leaves. He thought they were the coolest thing – and in his favorite color no less. We marveled at the trees and talked about how our favorite colors (mine is orange) are so present this time of year.
He also noticed a nice neat pile of leaves on the sidewalk. I gently explained that those weren’t for jumping into; I’m certain our neighbors put effort into making that pile for curbside collection. Then we carefully walked around the pile and moved on.
But that led to casual conversation about our neighbors and neighborhood and I realized we had never really walked around these streets before. We moved into our house in February but most of our walking since then entailed to and from the nearby park. Our streets really are picturesque and pretty peaceful.
I’m thankful our neighbors put up decorations, as well as those around town. It forced us out and about, especially within a few block radius. My son is impressively skilled with directions (I say impressive because I have been known to get turned around in the mall) and is really starting to learn his way around Bluffton after all the driving we do. I hope he stays curious and observant about our town.
I also hope even more people put up Christmas decorations. And if you do and you see a dark-colored Honda Civic driving slowly by, it’s probably just me entertaining my kid while teaching him all about community.
Jessica Bricker is a former editor of The News-Banner.
Although she’s no longer in journalism, she plans to contribute
a column to this page and talk about life in Wells County.
jessicabrickerwrites@gmail.com
