I have a balloon in my office. Well, not anymore. It was a helium balloon. When I came into work early on Monday morning, it was starting to deflate a little bit and fall onto my desk, making it challenging to work. If you had a deflating helium balloon and there wasn’t anyone around, what would you do? Me too. On a whim, I poked a hole in it and inhaled deeply. Then I began singing crazy songs like Baby Shark and It’s Raining Tacos really loud. Fortunately, no one was around to witness such silly, childish behavior, and the only remaining evidence is a deflated balloon and this newsletter.

While I was busy acting like a kid, my girls were being responsible violin students. Abby had a graduation concert for one of her violin books, which she performed in her Scarlett O’Hara costume. It wasn’t specifically planned that way, but the date that worked for the recital just happened to be the week of Halloween. Even with the large costume, she nailed Handel, Schumann, Paganini, Dvorak, and Bach, and I think playing in costume made doing the recital that much more fun. Maddy wasn’t about to be left out of the action, and she played through her entire group violin class in a full Wonder Woman costume.

Halloween is one of those holidays that gives everyone an excuse to be a little silly, wear a funny costume, and do things that ordinarily would be met with strange looks. But it seems to me that life shouldn’t be like that. Keeping a little silly in your step all the time makes life fun. When was the last time you jumped in a puddle just because it was there, stared at the sky and wondered why it was blue, or sang It’s Raining Tacos with lungs full of helium? It’s probably been too long.

Whatever your Halloween plans are, have fun and act like a kid a little. And when you’ve had enough childish antics and have eaten too much candy, come see us in the garden. We’ll inspire your child-like sense of wonder with gorgeous flowers and help you find plenty of ways to burn some calories digging in the dirt. Be safe and Happy Halloween.