It was a dark and spooky night; the leaves were tumbling down the streets, following in the footsteps of all the children dancing through the night. It was Halloween, and the ghosts, goblins, and witches were out to get yummy treats. Tall and short, happy and scary, the children delighted in going door to door and politely asking “trick or treat” to each person who answered the door. I don’t think that I will ever tire of Halloween; it’s a magical night where anything is possible.
We have been through the many stages of parenthood so far, and Halloween is a good holiday to see your progress. I remember the boy’s first Halloween, we dressed him in a “little monster” shirt and a Frankenstein hat. He didn’t trick-or-treat that year, but we joyously dressed him up and showed him off to everyone at our respective work places. The next year he was a farmer, and we braved the Children’s Museum Halloween Spectacular. We learned our lesson that year and never returned! He finally went trick-or-treating his third Halloween, as Iron Man. Following that were Wolverine, Darth Vader, a dragon boy, a vampire, and a zombie.
My sweet girl was a little black cat her first Halloween, which we enjoyed at a “trunk-or-treat,” the favorite Halloween pasttime for parents with small children. The boy was Darth Vader that year (my sweet four-year-old). The girl followed the cat with Olivia the Pig, followed by Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, a bumblebee, a jellyfish (my personal favorite), Mario, and Batgirl. We graduated from trunk-or-treats to neighborhood trick-or-treating in my darling’s third year. We started the
Halloween dinner and trick-or-treating with our friends’ stage of parenthood. This includes walking around with your children and walking with them up to the door. Little toddler legs sometimes have a hard time going up front steps!
This year, we have finally made it to the “we can stand in the road and wave” stage of Halloween trick-or-treating. The boy is fast approaching the age where he will no longer want to trick-or-treat, but he enjoyed this year. He dressed up as an anime character he likes, and the most wonderful man on earth (my darling husband) helped make some impressive weaponry from paper towel rolls, Coke boxes, electrical tape, and silver spray paint. The fast-growing little flower was a unicorn. The boy and his friends went off one way and the girl and I went another. Daddy followed behind the boys, letting them think they were off on their own. Trick-or-treating has now become a matter of how many houses I can hit in the one-hour time period the parents allow. The girl was on a mission and was not fooling around when it came to that candy.
Halloween is a wonderful time of year, and one that I have always enjoyed. As my children continue to grow older (at rapid speed), I cherish each memory that we make as they evolve from little babies to toddlers to kids to big kids to middle schoolers and beyond.
