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are turning into something else, its hard and round and green!" came Shane's gleeful cries as he bound in the screen door. James ran in behind announcing that his vines were growing these alien balls as well! All this time, up until the gourds forming, I did not know what the vine was! Now I knew! "Mom what is it?" came the excited questions. All I would say was "lets wait and see!"

The two tow headed hooligans watched and cared for the alien ball vines throughout the summer into autumn. Suddenly the boys bound in from the small yard, and yelled "its pumpkins Mom! Its pumpkins! How did we grow pumpkins?!" In all the excitement we three went put to our accidental garden and investigated our field of wonder. Three nice sized pumpkins were growing from the hooligan's vines.

Well I said, "Do you remember the pumpkin fight you had the day after Halloween last year?" The two hooligans looked at me like I had three heads. So much had happened in the eventful lives of my hooligans, that the pumpkin episode was nothing but a ethereal memory that they would light on, maybe years from now. I explained that three little seeds, one for Shane, one for James and one for Mom grew under all the snow and leaves from last year. "How?" chimed the hooligans. "Well lets just say that God wanted to surprise us this year with our very own Jack-Os!"

That Halloween was extra special as the little family made "Mom", "James" and "Shane" Jack-Os to put on their little steps for the few neighbors to see. The day after Halloween there came an ethereally familiar laughter, in the crisp wind, and a big "oops!" exclaimed in unison from the hooligans on the steps. I came a running as I did when I heard such things. The laughter was rib cracking as the hooligans said " oh Mom! we dropped our Jack-Os off the steps! Only yours is still here!" Their smiles were huge, the twinkling of the hooligan's blue eyes electric. I exclaimed "Oh! what a shame!", as the "Mom" Jack-o teetered over the edge into the corner with the others. The little family covered them with leaves and waited.

An annual "oops" planting happened on November 1st of each year, for many there after. The little family grew and the Jack-Os went by the wayside. The memories are always there each year as bright pumpkins begin to adorn the steps of neighboring homes.

This would be one of the best "oops" memory this Mom would have to cherish.

Learn more about this author, Andrea D. Hutchinson.
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