Some days are hard – harder than others. I have been scrolling through Facebook and looking at the adorable photos of children (and adults) dressed up for Halloween. This is usually a favorite activity of mine, after all is said and done and only the deformed remains of jack-o-lanterns and candy wrappers are left to tell the tale of this annual loot fest.
I heard a news item on the radio today about a group who are petitioning government to have the annual holiday held on the last Saturday in October instead of the 31st, as is customary. That makes a lot of sense to me, as the news piece pointed out, there are too many accidents on this day every year. Don’t ask me for stats – I don’t have them, but it was something that struck close to home this year.
Yesterday afternoon my sister-in-law was in a horrific car accident as she was driving home. Details are still sketchy and I don’t know exactly what happened., except that the car she was driving was t-boned by a transport truck. She had her daughter and one-year-old baby grandson in the car when the accident occurred. Fortunately her daughter and the baby are relatively okay. But my sister-in-law remains in hospital. She was seriously injured in the wreck. We have heard she is now in stable condition and we are grateful for that. I am hoping and praying for a complete and speedy recovery. My heart breaks for her children and her ‘other half’. We live in another province and sometimes the waiting is excruciating.
I don’t know what role Halloween may have played in the incident, if any, but I do know there are more reports of car accidents every year on this date. To move the holiday so it does not land on a weekday makes sense to me – not so many people traveling to or from work, meaning less traffic on the roads, making it safer for trick-or-treaters. In addition it would mean more time and less stress on parents, and on people in general as preparations for the frivolities can and do add stress.
Halloween definitely did not equal fun for my husband’s family this year, nor for our own little family. It was a scare I would not wish on anyone. It was a very tough day, and those days are likely to continue into the foreseeable future as we wait and hope and pray….