Is the Great Pumpkin real?

Experts have recently reported that pumpkin products can pose great risks of salmonella to young children. That is pretty rotten news if you’re a concerned parent with kids who want to go to the pumpkin patch this season. If you’re a childless adult like me who wants to go to the pumpkin patch, you’re probably safe, just as long as you don’t lick the outside of the pumpkin. 

There have been a lot of posts on Twitter lately questioning why a childless adult would subject themselves to an apple orchard or a pumpkin patch if they don’t have kids to share it with. As an adult who has braved the pumpkin patch for my own enjoyment, it’s because I’m trying to keep the magic of Halloween alive within me! Halloween as an adult can be exhausting, especially in NYC. People expect you to have three different Halloween costumes for all of the parties you’re attending, and that’s far too many costumes for me. I long for the days of yore, when I would come up with an idea for a costume, my mom and grandma would make it, and I would be the belle of the ball at my Elementary school. Sometimes I just want to enjoy the simple pleasures of Halloween, like carving pumpkins, instead of trying to come up with the most creative Halloween costume in North Brooklyn. 

When I want to indulge in the pleasures of my childhood, pumpkin memes remind me both of the pumpkin carving of my youth, and the endless meme scrolling of my teens. The best of both worlds!