Skeletons in August?
Some have skeletons in their closet, I found one near the plumbing isle.
I went to Lowe’s yesterday for some plumbing supplies and nearly dropped my wrench. Right inside the entrance was a 15-foot tall skeleton, a Grim Reaper with glowing red eyes, and a Dracula Minion. Halloween in August. Have you ever seen it this early?
Now, Halloween has always been confusing to me. The basic idea seems to be:
“Let’s put a 20-foot, blood-dripping Grim Reaper and a skeleton on the lawn so we can attract children to our house, and hope they knock on the door.”
That’s not weird?
And then there’s candy thing. You spend way too much money buying candy and chocolate, only to hand it out to kids you don’t know, while silently praying they’ll take just one Reese’s and not wipe out the whole bowl.
But standing under that giant skeleton, I had a different perspective. A little sadness. I’m looking up at the skeleton and imagining this guy’s story, who was he? What did he do with his life? Is that it? His life now reduced to scaring people in the entrance at Lowe’s. Is that what we’d want for ourselves?
It got me thinking. We’re entering the Jewish New Year season, a time of serious reflection, of asking the hard questions: Did I accomplish what I set out to do this year? Did I live up to the values I say matter to me? If not, how can I do better in the year ahead?
The skeleton is right about one thing: life is short. But that’s exactly why this season is so important. Because the real question isn’t what decoration we put on the lawn or what candy we hand out, it’s whether we’re living in a way that matters, and whether we’re ready to take the next step to improve.
Summary: Sometimes a 15-foot skeleton in Lowe’s isn’t just a Halloween display, it’s a reminder to take stock, to ask what really matters, and to commit to living better in the year ahead.