Each year I host a party for children and their families, and every year it creates magic– not the storybook or pretend magic, but something very real.

Families gather with their children when school closes and have a pizza party on the playground.  That event alone is incredibly exciting for young children.  This year the weather was warm for New England, approaching 70 degrees.  It was also foggy.  Perfect for what was about to happen!

We carved pumpkins into Jack-O-Lanterns.  That took quite a while; plenty of time for families to get to know each other, and plenty of time for each child and family to spend time together, doing something really fun.  Yet, it was far more than fun.

Darkness descended and transformed carving pumpkins into another world of wonder and splendor.  Imagine what it must be like for a child to be at school in the dark.  When…