Sayre Halloween

Last night we had a Top Ten Living-On-Campus Experience. I am sure, without a doubt, that years from now, when we look back on this living-on-campus phase of our family life, that we’ll reminisce about that time the students did trick-or-treating for Kyle, Owen, and Meera at Sayre. That walk down memory lane will go something like this, “Hey, remember that year the Sayre students did Halloween for the bambinos?” “Oh my gosh! Yes! Remember that?!” “Remember, our Head Gryphon, Jon, planned the whole thing?!” “Remember how many students were in on it?! How we trick-or-treated at Sayre?! How the students handed out candy at apartment-after-apartment-after-apartment?!!”

These Lehigh students — these young people who are our neighbors — these people who make up our community — they are AMAZING. Amazing beyond belief. I am humbled and honored to be in their presence and to be letting them share in the project of raising our three children. Kyle, Owen, and Meera are immersed in a world of gracious generosity, exuberant enthusiasm, and fun-loving care. These Lehigh students who are our friends and neighbors — they just blow my mind sometimes. And last night was one of those times.

Our Head Gryphon, Jon, organized this whole thing — a trick-or-treat Halloween night for Kyle, Owen, and Meera — at Sayre. This was 100% unsolicited and unexpected, and 100% initiated by Jon.

Unbeknownst to us, Jon sent out an email to all Sayre residents, asking if anyone would be interested in handing out candy to the bambinos for a trick-or-treat night at Sayre. Amazingly he got 20 apartments (out of 36 total) who wanted to do it. This is not 20 students; this is 20 apartments worth of students. This is unbelievable — especially given that right now is a major crunch time of the semester, and the stress level is building, and the place feels like a pressure cooker.

We knew the night was going to be special when we got the kids home from school and Jon gave each of them a pumpkin pail for trick-or-treating. (Um, yes! He even thought to get them the pumpkins to trick-or-treat with!)

And as the night unfolded we found that over 20 apartments worth of students stayed in to wait for 3 little trick-or-treaters to come a’ knocking.

And come a’ knocking those 3 little trick-or-treaters did.

The bambinos were thrilled to discover that last night Sayre was loaded with treats, just waiting behind apartment doors, there to be handed out by the friendliest, happiest, most excited neighbors any family could ever have. Jon, the five of us J-Ms, and Dash (in costume as a skeleton!), went door-to-door trick-or-treating in the three buildings that make up Sayre Village. And I truly can not say who was smiling bigger– the students, Jon, or us J-Ms. It was an incredible Sayre Halloween.

Last night an amazing community of Lehigh students made three kids, and one puppy, very very very very very very happy!

At the end of the night we had more treats than any one family should ever have. The students went crazy with treat-giving! It was over-the-top and we felt the love in a big, big way.

(Jon had even arranged to make sure there were Fig Newtons to be given out to Kyle; he knows that Kyle doesn’t like candy, so he made sure there would be a treat that Kyle actually likes. Kyle was ecstatic about this — Fig Newtons are his favorite treat. I don’t think Kyle will ever forget that detail; it will be part of the walk down memory lane, for sure: “Remember?! Jon had even arranged for Kyle to get Fig Newtons at a whole bunch of the apartments!!!”)

Honestly, it was just an amazing, amazing Sayre Halloween.

And this now makes 2 for 2 awesome Halloweens in Sayre — last year was unbelievably amazing too, in a whole different kind of way (click here for link to last year).

Thank you to all of Sayre for what you did last night! Thank you to our student friends and neighbors. And thank you to our 2013-2014 Sayre Gryphons. And thank you, especially, to our beloved Jon, who made us a memory we will never forget.