If one door closes, and another one opens, your house is probably haunted...

Happy (almost) Halloween! Spooky season has always been one of my greatest loves. I think over time, it has become sensationalized (like everything else), but to me, it has the same warm and exciting feeling as always.

So much of my love for holidays stems from my childhood memories that my mom created for me. It's always interesting to me when people shun Halloween because of religion. I was raised with faith and religion, but still, my mom catered to the fascination and magic that comes with it... not the terror. She made the scary things fun. She saw how much I loved watching The Munsters or Addams Family, and she gave me a space to let my imagination soar by creating a haunted house every year. She didn't tell me terrifying stories or scold me for enjoying Halloween. To this day, all holidays bring me immense joy, love, and excitement. I will forever be grateful to my Mama for that.

Halloween is just like anything else... it is what you make it. I choose to make it a celebration. It's a time to be creative and get in touch with your inner child. You can dress up and be any character you want. You can get crafty and make fun decorations, food, and costumes. There's just so much pleasure surrounding it. As children, we love things like this because it's a chance to imagine and to play. A chance to enjoy being a kid. There's no evil lurking, or evoking bad spirits, or trying to harm. It's all good fun.

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican tradition that begins the day after Halloween, and this is something that my dad's girlfriend got me in to. A couple years ago, I went to a Day of the Dead festival, and I will never ever forget a moment that I had with my dad, watching the band and everyone singing, dancing, and celebrating. We both were smiling ear to ear and started talking about how beautiful this tradition is. It symbolizes reuniting the dead with the living and celebrating our loved ones that are no longer with us. How special and loving is that?! One of the saddest things about losing someone, is that the world just carries on around us while our personal world is breaking knowing that we have lost such a big part of it. It always feels wrong, like there is just not enough honor to them and their legacy. Once they are gone, how often do we think of/talk about them? Having a designated day to remember these loved ones is the kindest, most beautiful tradition I can think of.

This Halloween, I have fully embraced the spooky season and made the most of it. I've had themed girls' nights, date nights, and solo nights- all which felt like a special celebration. I plan to continue through Halloween and embrace the Dia de los Muertos tradition by paying honor, respect, remembrance, and love to those who are no longer with me. The ones that I think of often but no longer have here. Instead of being sad though, I will celebrate them!

Remember that this holiday, and life in general, is what you make it. If you think that something is scary or demonic or terrible... no doubt, it will become that for you. If you look at things through eyes that are not jaded or full of preconceived notions, you will allow yourself to feel the magical delight and enthusiasm that comes with it. This is when you start having fun and realizing that life can be quite magnificent and charming.

Happy Hallows Eve!