As kids, we take so many things for granted—especially time. My mom has always been a dreamer and a doer, diving into projects that required far more patience than I ever realized back then. While most families made Christmas gingerbread houses, my mom—knowing how much we loved Halloween—crafted Haunted gingerbread houses instead. A time-consuming labor of love that, years later, I finally understood when I tried (and failed) to make my own.
 
One autumn, in the same spirit of these “time intensive tasks,” she decided to roast the seeds from our jack-o’-lanterns. I’ll never forget that first bite—warm from the oven, perfectly crisp, with a glaze that balanced sweet and salty in a way no store-bought snack ever could. From that year on, I begged for roasted pumpkin seeds every Halloween.
 
Eventually, my mom handed me the real work: “Okay, but if you want them, you have to pick out all the seeds and wash them.” I thought, no problem! Little did I know I would spend hours picking out seeds through sticky pumpkin guts with very little to show for my efforts.
 
Still, no matter how messy, no pumpkin seed has ever compared to the ones my mom roasted in our 200-year-old farmhouse kitchen. They tasted like home, like patience, like the magic of October.
 
This candle is my way of bottling that memory: the nutty warmth of roasted pumpkin seeds, kissed with sugar, salt, and spice—a nostalgic snack turned into a loving memory.