On Instagram over the weekend, I shared a confession. I posted, “I don’t know who needs to hear this, but I still have pumpkins on my porch.” Of course, I meant it to be a bit of self-deprecating humor, laughing at the fact that I had let pumpkins sit on my front porch almost three months past their prime. Most people got the joke and a surprising number shared that they still had pumpkins on their porch as well. A few people, though, were confused as to why I still had pumpkins on my front porch and why I would be sharing them on social media.
While the post was just meant to be a bit of levity, there was something deeper behind it. It was a way of saying, I’m a bit behind and it’s okay if you are, too. I knew those rotting pumpkins would be familiar to many people. Even if it wasn’t this year, there’s been a year where a live pumpkin was left out a little too long before it was chucked and the remnants hosed off the porch. Even if it wasn’t a pumpkin, it was something similar… The Christmas lights that were still up in April or the dead summer plants still on the patio in November.
In an online world that celebrates the finished, the organized, the beautiful, and the perfect, I wanted to extend some grace and encouragement to those who feel a little behind.
Sometimes you just forget.
One of the main reasons the pumpkins have languished on our porch for so long is that we rarely ever use our front door. I would notice the pumpkins when we went on walks or drove by our house and I would say something like, “We really need to take care of those pumpkins.” But, I wouldn’t see the front porch and I would get distracted by other things and they would survive another week.
Sometimes you just have something better to do.
While I had plenty of opportunities to dispose of said pumpkins between November and February, there were so many other things to do that were more fun than scraping pumpkin sludge off the porch. I was painting our living room, building a mantel, and decorating for Christmas. I took a much-needed break and permitted myself to be unproductive for a couple of weeks. And the pumpkins were still there when we finally took care of them this past weekend. Sometimes there are better things to do and that’s okay.
Sometimes there is a give and take.
I remember thinking, you need to get it together, Marian, when I would see those pumpkins. But I remind myself that I can’t do it all and I can’t be on top of everything all the time. If I spend more time working on painting, my house might not be as tidy. If I spend more time going on morning walks, my work day might start a little later. There is always a give and take and sometimes that means that pumpkins are sitting on the porch in February and that’s okay.
As I said in the beginning, this confession was shared with a dash of humor and to make others with pumpkins on their porch feel a little less alone. If you don’t get anything else, though, I hope you walk away from this post showing a little more grace to yourself for the things that are undone…
I did not decorate for Valentine’s Day this year. I am giving myself grace. Other things were more important.
I only got rid of my pumpkins on the front porch last month, just to relocate them to the back porch until I could bribe my children to roll them down the hill to chuck them over the fence. One day I will have my very own pumpkin patch back there.
I really needed this post today. Thank you.
If there’s dust on the mantle, it means you had something better to do…
I just finished putting away the last of the winter greenery. It’s always so naked right after Christmas, I like to leave some up. But now I’m definitely ready for Spring.
I still have a pumpkin on my porch as well. It’s one of those warty kind with the bent stem that when you turn it on it’s side and add eyes and a hat = instant decoration. For Halloween it was a witch; Christmas, Santa; January, I put a top hat on it. Looks like I need to add some hearts this month. 😉
I still have one tiny lantern and a small string of solar Christmas lights sitting on a bench on my porch. They will get put away. but not today. There’s something more important to do. Thank you for this dose of grace!
A great reminder, Marian! I don’t decorate specifically for Christmas on the mantle and the flower vases – I decorate for winter. The plainness after Christmas makes the house seem that much colder than it already is, so I usually leave it up from November through February. The tree and stockings and all things Christmas Red get put away after Epiphany. Our early daffodils are already blooming which makes me think I should shift colors but, really, we have a few more weeks of winter so I’m in no hurry to change out the seasons. Next will be a spring/summer amalgamation.
The only season that gets it own decor is fall because it just doesn’t fit with spring/summer or winter. I put out a couple of red/white valentine wreaths at the beginning of February and then will take everything down at the end of the month and start over from scratch. There’s always something better to do than pay hommage to the rotation of the earth!
I don’t have the pumpkins, but I have the dead mums still in their store container!
I can well imagine that your message rings true for and resonates with all most everybody!! I have a box of magnolia bulbs sitting in a box in my office floor. I am intimidated by needing to remove the ‘corms’ (?) before I can actually put them away for the winter. Except, it’s all ready February. The box is closed, so I am crossing my fingers that I will still be able to plant them for the summer. Wish me luck!
Here’s a quirky confession: I’m a good, hard worker. But. I have a really difficult time getting my engine started. I talk to my mom almost every morning, and I’ve found, I can’t really work until I speak with her. Sometimes, she’s not available until later, and those days I’m kind of aimless. (I work from home part time and set my schedule.)
The other thing that will get me going is reading your blog. I’ve been dragging all morning. I read your blog, picked up the phone, called my boss, and tackled a tough problem with him.
It’s not the first time I’ve felt a sort of release after reading your blog.
So, second to talking to Mom, your blog signals to me I’ve had my comfortable morning, it’s time to get to work. It’s almost like checking a box and feeling accomplished.
Well, at least you can put real pumpkins on your front porch! I live in a suburb of Atlanta and the deer in my neighborhood EAT any and all fresh/real pumpkins that I put on my front porch.
Don’t the deer know, that fall is my FAVORITE time of the year to decorate? And that I just love to decorate the front of my house with pumpkins, gourds and cornstalks – but the deer treat those decorations as a great big salad bar for them.
So, I have given up. So………….you say that you have pumpkins on your front porch, I say “Yea!”
We’ve all been there. I finally gave up decorating for all the holidays except Christmas . I didn’t want to store the items and there are other things to do. I guess you could say I do a little for fall, the pumpkins on the porch and some fall flowers in a vase in the kitchen but that’s it. And yes……sometimes the pumpkins live a long life on the porch.
It was a nice bit of levity from a ‘go getter’ that few of us can live up to. I did some fancy carving on some for my daughter one year, and left it on her front porch and forgot I had. She also didn’t go in the front door, and by the time I remembered to mention it, ….yep, they were rotted.
Life happens, and that is good, if life is happening, you are living it and not sweating the little things!
I’d be worried about rats, racoons or possums…but, that said, I still have my winter decor in place, and since we are just now starting to get the much-needed snow we should have received earlier in the winter, it doesn’t seem out of place and I’m still enjoying it…and it doesn’t attract vermin!
Great confession! Wonderful comments. I’m right there with everyone else. Christmas reds were put away earlier, but winter greenery, pine cones, etc. have stayed up. 3 boxes got put away last week, so I am nearly done with Christmas & winter. I had to laugh at the comment about ‘dead mums’ I too have a pot I don’t see very often and a poinsettia. The comment about the deer was funny too. Florida deer must like pumpkins, our California deer have never eaten them that I can remember; but they sure eat everything else. We are right with you Marion. Thanks.
Seriously, why do people feel the need to respond with critical comments? You stay busy with so many home improvement projects, many of which none of us would attempt. I think if you still have pumpkins on the front porch, you will clean them off when you’re ready to start the next project, such as the landscape plans you mentioned. In any event, there’s no need to criticize. Thank you for sharing a spot of levity with us.
You got an ‘Amen, Gurl!’ from this lady! This is one of the reasons why you are one of the few that I ‘follow’ on Instagram. Thank you for the beautiful inspiration but also a healthy dose of reality as well. Best wishes to you and your family!
For the lady with the hungry deer….Have you tried concrete pumpkins? My daughter and I made some several years ago. Consequently, I have pumpkins all year. I don’t like to move them because they are quite weighty. I’m ok with that! 😉
It is refreshing to know that a content creator can be honest about everything not being perfect in their world. I see so many perfect homes online and honestly sometimes it us a little discouraging when I see my imperfect home. Even if your remarks were made in jest it encouraged me to not strive for perfection. It is neither needed nor a measure if worth. Thank you.
I am very happy for you in that you do not have to worry about bears snacking on your leftovers. I believe in counting your blessings wherever they are. And for you, I am happy that you do not have to contend with bear, or moose, or even the gentle deer. Or elephants. Life could be oh so hard and it just isn’t.
I still have some of the little white pumpkins (I forget the name of them) in my living room!
They are still in perfect condition and not a soft spot on them… I hate to throw them away when
they still look so good. Ha!
Add little shamrock stickers and you’ll be set for March! 🙂
Yes, winter decor is still up with primroses planted and blooming in the yard. For when it’s foggy……, and when its sunny…….🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Sounds like a simple job for a young man and a great way to help his mama.
Marian, unfortunately there were so many ads on your blog I was unable to read what you were trying to comment on about the pumpkins. It was very disappointing. I know you receive some income from advertising but please try to limit it. I love hearing what you have to say!
Thanks for this post! In a world of picture-perfect posts, your honesty is a kindness and a blessing.
PS: for anyone who has old, rotting pumpkins on their porch–consider wearing a face mask as you dispose of them. I used to wok with a retired microbiologist, and he said that pumpkin mold can be dangerous–he’d even seen a few folks hospitalized from the spores.
While I still look forward to decorating for every season, I admittedly put up much less as I did in the past. I have found it to be too much of a chore to put up and take down decor and decorations and have to store it. One of my friends told me she was late in taking down her door wreaths from Christmas last year and the birds built a nest in them and then she felt she had to leave them up until almost Spring after the babies were born!
Keeping it real !!
We still have our indoor Christmas tree up in the living room and
love the ambiance, so it may just stay up until March! The rest of the
decorations are wintery things. We did just receive a “friendly notice”
from our HOA saying that we had exceeded the limit of 10 days after
the holiday to have our outside decorations taken down. We don’t have
tacky inflated things, but nice antiques, an 8 foot decorated tree and a
beautiful red/white Irish Chain quilt hanging on the wall. Not exactly
an eyesore, but we coalesced!
P.S. I still have 3 pumpkins decorated with succulents (from October)
and they’re still going strong!
Sorry, my computer is really acting up!
Indeed, you are a multi-talented woman, your writing is by far the most outstanding skill you possess, in my humble opinion. Thank you for enriching my life a little.
The pumpkins on the porch in February would drive me crazier! I have to get rid of seasonal decor fairly quick or I let it drive me nuts. I always remember it only takes a very few minutes to grab seasonal decor & get it out of sight. I do procrastinate about putting it where it belongs once I get it in the garage. My BIG hang up is getting the garage straightened up in the spring. Last year my son-in-law drove 150 miles to come help me get my garage in order. We all have our order of priorities. That’s what makes us individual & special.
Well said!!
After Christmas 2020 (pandemic Christmas!), we loved the twinkling lights in our patio trees so much, we left them up until February. When a neighbor mentioned how much she loved looking out of her kitchen window to see the cheery lights, we knew we’d done the right thing. And guess what?!?! The lights have stayed up ever since! Each night, the timer clicks the lights on at dusk and off at 11:00pm. We love them!
Thanks so much for this post, Marian, and the wonderful one at Christmastime, too, that put a real-life perspective on home and family and goals. It’s so easy to read blogs like yours and imagine that everything is perfection, that no problems arise, that things are easy and quick. Sunshine and daisies all around, all year. So it’s refreshing to see and read some of the challenges you face that common me can identify with. Thank you for keeping it real.
Hi Marion, I don’t decorate with red for Christmas….lots of white, green, blue and gold. I take away a lot of the gold candlesticks, etc and focus on leaving up all my strings of little lights that are all over the living room as well and my white candlesticks and many timed candles. I live in an apartment so no real ones. I love the relief it gives to my room and having all the lights and candles on in the dusk and evening is such a pleasure. I added in hearts for Valentine’s Day and will segue over to spring and TONS of rabbits over the weekend for Easter. I love making the small changes and enjoy seeing all the wonderful decorations. I am NOT a minimalist and that’s fine!! I just purchased a large curio/dish cabinet/whatever it’s called and I just set up arrangements of some of my beautiful china. So happy with the results. I love decorating and love the inspiration I receive from your blog. Thanks.
Thank you, Marian, I need to remind myself of this often! We have the privilege of watching our granddaughter, now 10 months old, on a consistent basis every week and my time is very diverted now. I’m reminded how fast the time goes and how important relationships are. There is a season for everything and no decorating can take the place of my granddaughter’s sweet little face looking at me and calling me, “Nana.”
Thanks for being real! Been there many times. All my Christmas decoration boxes are still in the basement family room. I decided sort them but it has happened yet. When I get to it, the boxes are going straight to the new house. Twenty years of living here to sort pack and move. 🤦