Metaphorically speaking, the month of September flew. Between back-to-school night, college application night, our anniversary and a trip to the DMV for my son’s driving learners permit, I find myself at the end of the month.

Am I sad? Halloween no!!!

I mean…well, you know what I mean.

October is one of my favorite months. Cooler weather prevails and if we’re lucky, we might get a drop or two of rain. For the past nine years I hosted a Halloween party for our boys. All the children on the block joined. It was loads of fun, but exhausting too, however I always looked forward to the energy of the day. This would have been our tenth year, but alas, tiny children become teenagers and the party this year is a no-go.

Initially disappointed, I quickly rallied when I received a lovely party invitation from my friend, Kirra. The theme: under the sea. Three more party invitations followed and amazingly three of them land on different days.

Realizing all the time and energy I’ll save not planning the party gives me time to make a costume again, but without the mad-dash rush. Plans are already underway.

Of course, the month of October is also filled with land minds: Halloween candy. It’s one of my downfalls.

Chocolate Pumpkin

The other thing that flew this month: seven pounds. I’ve been following a healthy eating plan and slowly the pounds are coming off. The last thing I want to do is reverse that trend eating candy. When I say it’s everywhere, I’m only mildly exaggerating. The grocery stores started stocking bags of it weeks ago. The drugstores have it too. No need to go looking for it as its right there at the check-out aisle. The next land mind arrives closer to Halloween when I buy candy to give away. I’ve learned to stay away from my favorites and that helps. Close to 200 children grace our doorstep over the course of three hours on Halloween night. We give away a lot of candy.

So, starting tomorrow and for the next 31 days, I’m going to keep track of the candy that I **don’t** eat. My Halloween countdown will also include my candy-free countdown as well. If you struggle in a similar fashion, I hope you’ll join me in this challenge.  I’m going to enjoy all the things I love about October while continuing to lose the extra pounds.

Special thanks to Elizabeth Cassidy, Pilates instructor extraordinaire, for her ongoing support.

Here’s what the garden looks like as we head into fall: