Sometimes, children give you delightful surprises. Just when you expect upset and anger, they rise to the occasion. Just when you expect frustration and annoyance, they solve a problem with creativity. This story is just such a story. It is the story of Day-Hay�s pumpkin---the pumpkin she carved because yesterday was Halloween.

For most of you, Halloween is on October 31st where it belongs but here in Wisconsin we move Halloween. When Halloween is on the 31st, it sometimes falls during the week. During the week, children go to school. Children who go to school cannot be out canvassing the neighborhood extorting candy from the neighbors. So we move Halloween.

I can hear your doubts now. Why can�t they just go out for candy in the evening as they do elsewhere? Why can�t they just use flashlights and reflective tape and bring parents? Well, I�ll tell you. Wisconsin believes that bad things happen in the dark. My experience in life tells me that most bad things that can happen in the dark can happen in the daytime but never mind reality. Wisconsin is protecting her children so Halloween occurs the Sunday afternoon before October 31st at a time set by the local community (which may or may not match the time set by the community a few blocks over. Not surprisingly, many people fail to participate in either giving or receiving candy because they cannot figure out when the festivities are.)

But I digress. The subject is not candy, delightful as chocolate can be. The subject is Day-Hay�s pumpkin�and what an imaginative jack o�lantern it is.

Saturday, just before I went out to a party, I suddenly realized that Halloween was on Sunday and I had neither candy nor pumpkins. I ran out to the grocery store. They had plenty of candy. Pumpkins were cheap but there were only four left. I picked out the best two and bought them. It wasn�t until I got home that I noticed that one of the pumpkins would not stand up straight. It only lay on its side.

This morning, it was time to carve the pumpkins. Tradition dictates that each girl gets to do a pumpkin. The question was who got the prime pumpkin, the traditional pumpkin, the round little orange number. Clearly, the loser was going to get the pumpkin that couldn�t stand straight. I suggested drawing straws. The girls suggested flipping a coin. Kat even offered to let Day-Hay go first.

Day-Hay called �tails.� I flipped the quarter. It hit the floor. It spun. It rolled around and then it fell. Heads. Day-Hay was the owner of the defective pumpkin. Kat and I braced for the explosion. We awaited the �it�s not fair!� But it never came.

I went for some blocks to prop the pumpkin up. I needn�t have bothered. Day-Hay had a better idea. She suggested letting it lay on its side, using the stem as a nose, and cutting a hole in the other side (which was now the top.) It made sense to me. I cut a large oval in the side that now was on top and, with some help with the cutting, she turned the thing into a very cute cat jack o�lantern with a stem for a nose. Kat was filled with admiration for Day-Hay�s creativity and problem solving ability. So was I.

If I had a digital camera, I would post a picture of the jack o�lantern here. Unfortunately, I just have a regular 35 mm camera and a scanner. For now, you�ll just have to take my word for it. This is the best jack o�lantern we�ve had in a long time�and what it represents is even better: Day-Hay is growing up.

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