Happy Halloween! I know, I know, from a Christian standpoint Halloween is one of those holidays that a lot of people have strong opinions about. I prefer to think of it not as a day of any kind of celebration of the dark side, or whatever but simply a fun day for kids to indulge in their fantasy by wearing a costume and going out and getting buckets full of candy. Some of my best childhood memories are from Halloween and some of my best memories with my boys are of Halloween.
I sometimes long for the days of old when parents could send their kids out to trick or treat on their block and not worry about abductions, or poison candy. I don’t remember a Halloween as a kid that my mother or dad went along while we trick or treated. I do seem to remember that there was usually one adult with a bunch of us kids. But for the most part, we were free in our quest for how many doors we could hit and how much candy we could accumulate. There was one house at the end of Longview Street in Mesquite TX where I grew up that always went over and above and had something really special on Halloween….like one year I remember getting a homemade popcorn ball, another year he gave out ice cream bars. And there was always a token house that gave out a FULL SIZE candy bar. We went out of our way every year to go to those 2 houses. And unlike today, almost every house on the block participated. There wasn’t the “rule” about if the porch light is off they don’t want to be bothered because every porch light was on and every house was anxiously awaiting the doorbell and the cry of Trick or Treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat. Oh, how cute and my you are scary and the occasional Aren’t you a little old for trick or treating directed at some teenager trying to blend in with the little goblins. LOL
Usually I was either a gypsy or a witch as a kid. That’s because we couldn’t really afford to store buy costumes so my mom used her creativity and whatever was on hand to make us a costume. Gypsy was simple because my mom and dad square danced and so I would wear one of her square dance skirts pinned to fit me and a peasant blouse and lots of costume jewelry and a scarf around my head. My brother pretty much went as hobos every year. My mom would sew patches on their regular clothes to make them look shabby and then put a pillow case full of stuffing on a broom handle for them to carry over their shoulder like a hobo carrying his worldly belongings. I do remember one year that we got to buy costumes at the store and I hated the mask because the eye holes wouldn’t stay where they were supposed to and the costume itched and after that I didn’t beg for store costumes anymore. Much easier to see and not trip if you were not wearing a mask.
One year I did trip and spilled my candy sack and I remember that because a bunch of kids converged on me when I fell and started picking up my candy and helping me put it back in my sack while another kid whose mother was smart and sent them out with a big flashlight shined it on the ground to make sure we got every piece.
And then once we had our grocery sack full of candy my brothers and I would start the long process of sorting our candy into piles and then lthe trades began! That was actually my favorite part. Even as a kid I loved bubble gum and I would trade my mini candy bars for 2 or 3 pieces. At the end of then ight we would head to bed , full of candy and content knowing that for the next few eeks we would have pieces of candy in our lunches every day.
I think the last time I trick or treated I was about 16 (much too old to be trick of treating) but I still had a sister who was trick or treat age and so I volunteered to trick or treat with her. I wore a sheet with holes cut for eyes and when I got home I picked out all the candy in my sack that I liked and gave the rest to my sister.
I remember the first Halloween for Christoper we dressed him up as a dragon. He almost a year old. The next year he was a baseball player, the next a cowboy. Along the way he was a pirate, Peter Pan (which annoyed Mike to no end because he had on tight and was too “feminine”…lol, and he was a teenage mutant ninja turtle and a power ranger. Andy was all the same things because he always got Chris’s last year hand me down costume the first few years until he began to want the same thing Chris was wearing. Those years I had power rangers, and teenage mutant ninja turtles, plural. We would trick or treat the neighborhood where we lived and t hen go over to the neighborhood where their grandparent lived so they could see them all dressed up. And we would trick or treat in that neighborhood because it was mostly retired, older people who had really good candy. Plus they were all home because they weren’t out with their kids trick or treating. Times had changed and you wouldn’t think of sending you kid out to trick or treat alone or even with a group of kids. Too many weirdo’s out there. And before the trade the candy ritual could begin every piece had to be inspected to make sure it wasn’t tampered with. Homemade treats, like bags of cookies or a popcorn ball, or even an apple got thrown away unless we knew for sure where the treat came from. And along with candy there would be the occasional toothbrush, or candy bar with a bible message taped to theback.
And then before I knew it my boys were too old to trick or treat and to enjoy the fun of going door to door and seeing all the excited kids in costumes I had to travel to Kingfisher and go with my niece and nephew if I wanted in on the Halloween fun.
I only remember going to one costume party as an adult and I was dressed as an Angel ad my coat hanger halo kept getting caught in doorways and my wings kept knocking into people.
And then I evolved into the adult with grown kids that sat on the front porch and said “oh what a cute princess, or Ooh a scary monster, or aren’t you a little old to trick or treat?”
This year I have done a little decorating with the help of a gang of squirrels who hollowed out my pumpkins for me making it so much easier to carve…they ate the slimy pumpkin guts so I didn’t have to scoop those out. I haven’t bought any candy because I’m not sure that kids trick or treat in an RV park . Probably I’ll buy some just in case because the worst thing is being trick or treated and having nothing to give the cute kid. Somehow I don’t think a can of green beans would be appreciated. Maybe I will buy full size candy bars and become the Coolest RV in the park. With a little imagination I could probably come up with a costume from my closet to be a wizard of oz character which would accommodate Quincy’s costume…or lack thereof…he could be Toto…I think I have a basket somewhere I could make him sit in. Joe has to work tonight. I could always put on one of his uniforms and be a security guard..but that might scare away the trick or treaters.
Probably I will just sit outside and enjoy the evening, basking in memories of old when the kids were little and life was simpler. And with any luck there will be no eggs thrown at my RV or toilet paper in my trees when I get up tomorrow.
Life is a like a bowl of candy…(lol) Pick out the best pieces to enjoy . the trick ( or key) to the treat (or happiness) is to enjoy the moment..savor the sweetness life has to offer. Happy Halloween
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