Purple Pumpkins…

(I am reposting this on my blog for those of you who don’t follow me on Instagram…so here’s a little bit of a backstory on on the purple pumpkins. Every October and November (November is Epilepsy Awareness Month if you didn’t know) many of us in the epilepsy community use the hashtag #purplepumpkinproject and paint our pumpkins purple to spark a conversation about epilepsy and to bring awareness to the 1 in 26 Americans who battle epilepsy. This post kinda sums up the thoughts I had as I painted our pumpkins purple this year. Also, I tossed a few updated pictures of Everett in just for y’all that read my blog! 😉)

A random thought popped in my head the other day, “purple pumpkins weren’t part of my plan”. It popped up out of no where as I sat painting these beauties all different shades of purple and planning how I would display them on our front porch.

Purple pumpkins weren’t part of my plan…You know the plans that go have a baby, watch that baby grow up hitting all their milestones exactly in time, document all their “firsts”, swoon when they call you “mama” or “dada”, capture fall family photos, pick out the perfect pumpkins and take them home to carve or decorate…blah blah blah. Yeah, those plans…

Purple pumpkins weren’t a part of my plan…instead of picking pumpkins from the always crowded pumpkin patch down the street, we picked a patch that we knew would be less crowded to avoid a sensory meltdown and we never did get those perfect fall family photos. I painted our pumpkins on my own while Everett was at daycare to avoid a paint filled disaster, and these pumpkins painted various shades of purple now sit on our front porch, the center one displaying a ribbon to bring awareness to a diagnosis that changed our lives forever.

Purple pumpkins weren’t a part of my plan…life wasn’t supposed to be like this. Everett is our only child, we were supposed to have all of the firsts and all of the memories that every first time parent dreams of, but epilepsy took those things from us…without even asking I might add (how effing rude!😒).

Purple pumpkins weren’t a part of my plan…Now don’t get me wrong for one minute, I LOVE my child more than life itself. The bravery and resilience he has shown since that devastating diagnosis 2 1/2 years ago is nothing short of extraordinary. However he shouldn’t have to be resilient, brave or strong. He should be able to just be a kid, to run, jump and play, to have arms and legs that work perfectly, he should be able to pick a pumpkin from that crowded pumpkin patch without an overstimulation meltdown and we should be able to take that pumpkin home and let him scribble or paint all over it, without being worried he would eat the markers or paint.

Purple pumpkins weren’t a part of my plan…yet there I sat painting pumpkins all different shades of purple. Because, like it or not, epilepsy is a part of our life. Everett is part of the 1 in 26 people in the United States who are affected by epilepsy. We need to do more to find a cure, to bring awareness and to find answers for those battling this disease.

So part of my plan or not…purple pumpkins will adorn my porch every October and November from here on out. And if just one person asks me, “hey, why are your pumpkins purple?” those purple pumpkins will be 100% worth it. 💜

-Sara