I took a picture of this pre-carved pumpkin a few days ago and thought I would post it with some snarky comment about lazy moms or uncreative nannies.

As the days passed I kept thinking about the picture and what I would say when posting it, because after all I thought a pre-carved pumpkin was a Halloween cop out.

I’m posting it now to take that back. A man came into my restaurant for dinner, people ignored him as he rolled by but then stared at him as he ate. I wasn’t his server but I couldn’t help but notice that he was struggling. I stopped what I was doing and asked if he needed any help. His speech wasn’t very eloquent but he managed to ask me to help him cut his crab toast for him.

As I bent down to help him every part of me wished I hadn’t thought this pre-carved pumpkin was stupid. I hoped that Jewel, my local grocery store, didn’t just sell them for procrastinators or lazy people but also sold them for people like this man. He couldn’t even cut toast much less carve a pumpkin, which shouldn’t mean he can’t have one.

Surely whoever carved that pumpkin at Jewel just did it because they were told to, nevertheless I hope it made it into the hands of someone who couldn’t do it themselves. And I hope they enjoyed their work. ;)