I said October is never normal, and even though we’re done traveling, the remaining days of the month are chock-full. I don’t know what it is about Halloween, but we usually have almost as many Halloween events as we do Christmas ones—and I think you know where I’d prefer to put my energy. But! I am nothing if not Fun Mom, and so to steady my mind to prepare for the days ahead, I clicked into Control Freak mode. I spent all of Saturday in the kitchen, food prepping, meal planning, baking. Then I wiped everything down and restored a sense of good order. It was warm and sunny outside, but it felt like fall inside my house, and at the very least, next week, I know what’s for dinner every night and I have my pantry prepared for it.