It is no surprise tome that to many people Halloween is the most wonderful time of the year, at least for me and my family.

With that comes a lot on our plate. Some of it is work, some of it is fun, and then there is a whole lot of stuff in between.

October 2026 so far has been almost like trying to see how many dice you can stack before the whole thing falls over.

• Samhain: Hearth & Horror play-testing.
• YouTube video creation for Agranak.
• Painting the side of the house.
• Knott’s Scary Farm planning and a two-day getaway starting Sunday.
• A wedding near Tombstone, Arizona next week.
• Hiring and training at work.
• A special haunted performance by yours truly and friends.
• The Samhain Campaign 2026, which this year will be three days straight.
• The Heathen holiday Vetrnætr, or Winter Nights.
• Costume planning for Samhain, the upcoming wedding since it is a costumed affair, and of course Halloween.
• Halloween:
  • Pumpkin carving
  • Candy eating
  • Parties
  • Trick-or-Treating
  • blah, blah, blah.

And somewhere in there I still have to go to work and keep writing Samhain.

That last part may chill out a bit while some of these other things get checked off the list.

So...

How do I take all of this in while running around like a Dullahan with his head cut off?

Little Moments

A little while back I was trying to figure out how to enjoy the hell out of Knott’s Scary Farm and all the mazes without the entire night feeling like a six-hour blur.

My normal approach is to run from one maze to the next and just get it done! Make sure I get the most bang for my buck!!!

There are pit stops along the way for snacks, drinks, maybe a little merch shopping, but mostly it is:

Next maze.

Next maze.

Next maze.

This year I will be there with my wife and daughter, and our son will join us later in the evening.

We get the Fright Lane pass, which is basically the Knott’s version of a FastPass.

It costs $199.

And holy crap, it is worth every penny to me.

There are ten mazes total.

You can look at that and think, "Okay, that is basically twenty bucks per maze."

Then you look at the regular lines and realize some of them can be around two hours long.

The average Joe may get through three or four mazes if they are lucky.

We usually make it through all ten with plenty of time to spare.

Money definitely does not grow on trees here at the Wisdom household. We save up all year for this event, which makes it even more important to me that I actually experience it rather than just race through it.

That is where the advice came in.

After each maze, stop.

Just for a minute or two.

Talk about what you just went through.

What jump-scare got you?

What was the coolest room?

What monster got you?

Favorite set piece?

What was the most memorable moment?

Just bask in it for a minute.

That is all.

It does not take long.

But it is about the pause.

It is that old idea of stopping to smell the roses, except in this case the roses are fog machines, fake blood, chainsaws, and people jumping out of dark corners.

Pause. Breathe. Repeat.

It may not sound like much, but I have done things like this before and sometimes a tiny pause is all it takes.

You acknowledge the moment before moving on to the next thing.

That is probably what I need to do with all of October.

Pause.

Breathe.

Repeat.

My family is crazy important to me, and having this time together is precious.

I want to remember it.

I want to soak it in.

And that is the part that has been eluding me lately.

The soaking part.

There is always another thing coming.

Another deadline.

Another event.

Another video.

Another game.

Another costume.

Another thing that needs to be done.

It becomes really easy to spend October preparing for October.

Then suddenly it is November.

I do not want that this year.

So I am going to do what it takes to stay present.

After the maze, stop and talk about the maze.

After the game, sit around for a few minutes and talk about what happened.

During the wedding trip, actually look around Tombstone.

During Samhain, pay attention to the people at the table and not just whether the session is moving.

When the pumpkins are being carved, be present and carve the damn pumpkins!

When Halloween night finally gets here, stop thinking about everything that led up to it and just be there.

That is the goal.

Not to slow October down.

I do not think that is possible.

Just to notice it while it is happening.

Pause.

Breathe.

Repeat.

Take it all in.