October reflection – it was…a lot!

I can not begin to tell you how relieved and happy I am that October is over! I love many things about October – Halloween, the weather usually starts to change…well, it felt like there were more things. But, man does it go off the rails every. single. year. I used to blame it on coaching Speech and Debate because the tournament schedule in October was a little brutal. But, I’m not doing that any more and it still feels like total chaos. I think it is because there is always a lot for work and then I try to pack in a lot of seasonal fun as well. Let’s see what I did this month:

• Kicked it off weekend one with our Speech and Debate Alumni Hall of Fame. It was great seeing so many that I haven’t seen in a long time. It was brunches and dinners and lunches for the whole weekend! Great stuff, but definitely a lot of peopling.
• Wildcat Alumni Night at the Barn. The Barn is a local venue for concerts and events and this was a concert with a couple of my favorites – Emma and Will and The Kelly Twins. It was fun, but not the same because only my husband and I were able to go from our friend group. We’re fun, but it is always better with a crowd!
• Wildcat Weekend Presentation. We have a weekend during alumni weekend for prospective students. I took my daughter, who is a senior, to talk to some departments/faculty and then had a presentation to do for Transfer students.
• Flu/Covid shot. This knocked me out for about two days this time. It was brutal. I got them both at the same time and that may have been a mistake, but with everyone around me getting sick now, I’m glad I did it early!
• Trivia at a new spot. We have a new spot for trivia every Thursday and its been fun. It is pretty small right now, being new. But, the food is excellent and the wine is better.

• Pumpkin Patch visit. We got a quick visit into our local pumpkin patch with friends. It was a little late in the season so the pumpkins were pretty picked over, but we got a couple of nice ones for the porch and made some memories!

• Halloweentown at the Barn. Another great event at the Barn! This had music and vendors and what seemed like a million people in an incredibly small space! It was fun, but a little claustraphobic. But, some of the vendors were amazing – so much creativity in our small town!
• Decorating and planning for our Girl Scout Hal”low”een Event. My troop has hosted a Hal”low”een Event celebrating Juliette Low’s birthday and Halloween for the past four years now. It is a lot of fun, but last year we added a “haunted barn” in the small barn building we have on the site and it took it to a whole new level. I have one girl and a mom who really bring it, but it is a lot of work. So, we did that on Thursday evening and Friday morning before…
• Troop camp weekend at Hidden Falls. We left for Soquel and stayed the weekend at GSNorcal’s Camp Hidden Falls. It was really beautiful and we went to Capitola and hiked to the falls and had a mouse in the building we were staying in (!) and did a nature scavenger hunt designed by another troop and it was a GREAT weekend.

• Hal”low”een Event! Another successful event, but our girl who is usually the Haunted Barn host was in ER with possible appendicitis (it turned out not to be, but how scary) so I have no photos! I was manning a station already because one of our other girls had a tech week thing for her school play and we’re a small crew as it is. It was a little chaotic, but the little girls loved it! We hosted 42 girls and had a great time! But, man am I glad it is over.
• Halloween! We did our second year at a friend’s house for Halloween and this year instead of hanging back and handing out candy, I walked around with them. A group of 8 Kinder to 4th graders and wow. That’s a lot of energy! But, I love all the costumes and decor and such. My favorites were definitely my friends family who dressed up as Dolly Parton Look-a-like Contestants. A close second was the Hungry Hungry Catepillar and its food (for the hubby who does not like to dress up). And my daughter as Dana Scully from X Files, which I love more than I can say!

At work, I also helped our student team host a week of events for National Transfer Week, wrote our annual report for First-Year Experience, and worked on our new 2-unit proposal for submission to our Academic Senate this month.

So, yeah. October was…a lot. I am so happy I got to make so many memories with my daughter and friends, but I would just like to spread out that memory making a little bit more! I’m exhausted!

Luckily November brings a day off mid-week soon with Veteran’s Day and a week off for Thanksgiving. Then, we come back for just two weeks before finals and Fall semester is OVER! I am sure that November and December will be busy, but I don’t think the two combined will see as much action as October!

How was your October? I know a lot of people find November and December to be their busiest months, but I definitely feel like October is always my busiest month of the year (with February close behind).