For the Love of Pumpkins

 October 30, 2022 

We didn’t do anything with costumes today. But Bradley almost put on his Ironman costume just because. 😁 Bradley chose not to wear his costume because something so much better was offered…by now, it probably will not be a surprise for you to know that it involved pumpkins. What will potentially surprise you is that we have to come up with a new method for knife storage and at a higher location, again. As Bradley grows, our storage for the knife block grows also…grows higher that is. Bradley has shown no interest or inclination to even try to reach the current knife block location. Yesterday, he let us know that unless I can make space in a high cupboard or on top of the fridge, we might be done with knife blocks. A container with a lock is the likely next step for us. Thanks to Curious George, who carves his pumpkin in his Halloween movie, Bradley understands carving pumpkins. Yesterday he decided it was time to carve his pumpkin. While I was in the shower, he got up from his lunch at the table with Eric and Sydney, and walked over to the counter, carefully pulled out a knife from the knife block, and carrying the knife in the proper and safest way (somehow) he walked over to the table, and then pointed to his pumpkin. Eric quickly took his little steak knife and we told him we would wait for Madison to carve pumpkins. Madison came home a couple weeks ago and told us that she was really wanting to carve pumpkins with Bradley this year. Anyway, since she was at work yesterday, we told him we would do it today. 

Fast forward to today. About the time I was prepping the table for pumpkin carving, Bradley brought me his Ironman costume. Seeing me ripping off pieces of butcher paper and Dad holding the big pumpkin, Bradley got very excited, abandoned the costume and helped me lay the paper down. Once we were ready, he sat right in front of the pumpkin (as completely in Dad’s way as possible without being in danger) to watch the carving happen. Standing beside him, I watched him laughing and smiling. Madison was behind him, supervising and trying to give her advice on Dad’s work. Eric looked at her and said, “I know it’s been a little while, but I have carved a couple of these.” 

Laughing at them, I thought back and said “The last pumpkins we carved were when we were in San Diego at Grandpa’s House.” Still smiling and grinning, Bradley repeated me saying “Ganpas house” very clearly and with excellent pronunciation. The amount of excitement that we had for him talking like that was almost as much as Bradley has about his pumpkins and the carving! It was so exciting! 

Eric got the top open and then had Bradley stand on his chair so he could reach in and pull the seeds and gooey guts out. I couldn’t believe he was willing to do it. He dipped in three times, but the third time, he wasn’t as thrilled that the stringy goo was sticking to his hand, so he let us know he was done with that part and Madison took over for him. It was petty funny, especially when he sat down and then supervised her work and then Eric’s carving skills. In the end, we had a smiling jack o’ lantern that was smiling as big as our boy. 

Over an hour later, Eric looked at Bradley and asked him if he carved a pumpkin today. Bradley answered him: “Ganpas house.” Does my son have a core memory from seven years ago? I don’t know. Maybe yes or maybe no…perhaps he just thought I was saying something about the pumpkin carving, but maybe he just has ahold of a special moment in time. I know the importance of holding these moments in time and carefully keeping them very close in my heart, my wish above all else is that Bradley has one of these moments held securely in his heart as well. Even further, my wish is that from today, this time with all of us around the table carving a pumpkin for Bradley all because Madison came home a couple weeks ago and said she really wanted to do this with him - gives the girls and Eric; and I truly hope that Bradley will hold this memory of us together today, for always. 

For whatever the future holds, I hope that the girls will keep carving pumpkins with Bradley, and someday if the fates decide to Bless them with their own littles, I hope they make some of these memories with Bradley too. Because as much as life goes on and the turning of time is never ending, it’s the love shared on days like today that makes all that time worth it. 

31For21 Blog Challenge for Down Syndrome Awareness and Acceptance 💙💛. Thank you for wanting to carve a pumpkin with Bradley, Madison 😘😘