Happy halloween
We are not "big halloween people." Never have been. I think for the most part, costumes and haunted houses go way too far.
However, I do have fond memories growing up of being able to dress up and go to the houses of our friends and family to get treats. I am a big sweet tooth, and candy is my favorite addiction within the realm of sweets. Free candy? Oh, I was SO there.
I remember almost every one of my childhood costumes. Mom and Dad would not allow scary ensembles, nor would I have ever chosen such a thing (I admit it, I am a scaredy cat). My favorites included Strawberry Shortcake (my red hair blended in perfectly with the mask's front), Scarlet O'Hara, and Wonder Woman.
I remember carrying around my heavy-laden plastic jack-o-lantern, swinging it a little too bravely as I walked here and there. Mom and Dad surrounded me, held my hands with one hand and held flashlights in the other. When we were visiting Mom's side of the family, I would join in with my three cousins and we'd travel along together (my aunt knew everybody on her street....literally).
Then came the fun part....getting home, shedding our sweaty costumes, and dumping out my treasures on the kitchen table. There Mom and Dad would inspect every single piece of candy, setting aside to throw away the pieces with torn paper (or those that looked otherwise "suspicious"). Then, they'd let me choose 3 or 4 to eat that night. It was too late to pig out on candy; I could have more tomorrow (which was always horrible if it was a school day and I had to wait till 3pm to eat any more!).
I remember the fall festivals at church....the weird plastic hand puppets and the plastic spider bracelets....the ring pops and the slinkies. I remember the fall festival at my elementary school in first grade....there was one game in my classroom that night that was the most fun of all, "Go Fishing." My teacher was hiding behind a sheet hung up in the corner, and we'd throw a fishing pole line with a clothespin on the end over the sheet. A few seconds later, there was a tug or two at the line, and we would reel it back in. That was the year that "Gremlins" came out in the theaters.....I went back enough times that I had obtained the entire paperbook set of stories from the movie.
This year, Gardner will be a circus monkey. It is complete with tasseled hat and vest. I can't believe it's already my time to take my own child out to trick-or-treat....how time flies. I can still smell the smells, feel the feel of the air on halloween night as a kid. It truly seems like yesterday.
However, I do have fond memories growing up of being able to dress up and go to the houses of our friends and family to get treats. I am a big sweet tooth, and candy is my favorite addiction within the realm of sweets. Free candy? Oh, I was SO there.
I remember almost every one of my childhood costumes. Mom and Dad would not allow scary ensembles, nor would I have ever chosen such a thing (I admit it, I am a scaredy cat). My favorites included Strawberry Shortcake (my red hair blended in perfectly with the mask's front), Scarlet O'Hara, and Wonder Woman.
I remember carrying around my heavy-laden plastic jack-o-lantern, swinging it a little too bravely as I walked here and there. Mom and Dad surrounded me, held my hands with one hand and held flashlights in the other. When we were visiting Mom's side of the family, I would join in with my three cousins and we'd travel along together (my aunt knew everybody on her street....literally).
Then came the fun part....getting home, shedding our sweaty costumes, and dumping out my treasures on the kitchen table. There Mom and Dad would inspect every single piece of candy, setting aside to throw away the pieces with torn paper (or those that looked otherwise "suspicious"). Then, they'd let me choose 3 or 4 to eat that night. It was too late to pig out on candy; I could have more tomorrow (which was always horrible if it was a school day and I had to wait till 3pm to eat any more!).
I remember the fall festivals at church....the weird plastic hand puppets and the plastic spider bracelets....the ring pops and the slinkies. I remember the fall festival at my elementary school in first grade....there was one game in my classroom that night that was the most fun of all, "Go Fishing." My teacher was hiding behind a sheet hung up in the corner, and we'd throw a fishing pole line with a clothespin on the end over the sheet. A few seconds later, there was a tug or two at the line, and we would reel it back in. That was the year that "Gremlins" came out in the theaters.....I went back enough times that I had obtained the entire paperbook set of stories from the movie.
This year, Gardner will be a circus monkey. It is complete with tasseled hat and vest. I can't believe it's already my time to take my own child out to trick-or-treat....how time flies. I can still smell the smells, feel the feel of the air on halloween night as a kid. It truly seems like yesterday.
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