Last year, I shared a book at this time of year that fit perfectly with the moody, cool, often damp world that is November. This year, coincidentally, I have another book that fits that category. It’s spooky season, but this book is more in the haunting category.
What makes this one special is that both of my daughters have been telling me to read it for quite some time. This is of note, because they rarely like the same books. When I finally started reading it, I finished in less than two days because I couldn’t stop.
Halloween has come and gone again, and as I woke up the next morning, I was again thinking, is this all there is? Is Halloween really the only local event where adults can shamelessly dress up and go out?
I’ve seen costumers around my area from time to time – a couple in 19th century garb swirling through city streets on Troy Night Out, a woman in an interesting cloak at the annual lantern parade at a local park, a few women at the Victorian Strolls in Saratoga and Troy. Reenactors at historic landmarks in the area.
I went to a local craft store the week before Halloween, only to find they were completely out of the supplies I needed because New York City’s comic con had just taken place. Is that the closest place to go if you like to dress up? How is that possible?
Yet every time I search for costuming events in my area, I come up empty. Albany Museum of Art and History is nearly the only hit (mainly for its collections). Depressingly, the only other link was what looks like a con in 1989. It was such an old reference I didn’t even click on the link.
It’s Native American History Month.
At the beginning of this year, I published a list of books by Native American authors to introduce kids to the original inhabitants of our country. People who were abused in every way, and yet survived and are still telling their stories.
Here are three more titles to read with your kids.
Last fall, I made a quilted vest by hacking the former Kochi jacket pattern, now called the Luna Jacket, from Papercut Patterns. I made enough alterations that the collar was the only thing that looked like the original. I still wear it often, but for some reason, when I saw Geri In Stitches Fibre Mood Irma, it occurred to me that maybe I hadn’t achieved the holy grail of quilted vests yet.
Just wait.
Your teenagers will make you laugh. Sometimes it will be because they were trying to be funny, and sometimes not. You’ll typically know the difference, which will make it even better.
They’ll introduce you to music you didn’t know existed. You’ll hate some of it, but sometimes, you’ll listen to the playlist they made on your phone even when they’re not around. Sometimes they’ll even surprise you by knowing one of “your” songs.
They’ll impress you with their perceptiveness. They’ll observe things about themselves, and you, your family culture, and the world, that will make you stop and think, or laugh in recognition.
