Halloween

I remember the days when the boys jostled each other to get to the doorbell first.  The argued as they ran and after the “trick-or-treat” and “thank you!” they argued again.  “It was MY TURN to ring the bell!’ Sometimes someone would cry.

That happened at every house as we circled our neighborhood.

Now, of course, they don’t even come outside on Halloween night.

Tonight, it was just me and Grace and the dog.  I stayed near the road with the dog (who wore a Bad Dog striped convict’s costume) and Grace marched up to each door, rang the doorbell, said, “Trick or treat” and “Thank you!” in her confident girl’s voice.  Sometimes I heard her say, “I like your shirt” or “your dog is cute” . . . and I’d hear the grown-ups say, “Are you alone?” and she’d say, “No, my mom is here.”

How different life is from decade to decade.  Two decades ago, I didn’t even have a kid to take trick-or-treating.

I’m not even going to try to guess what Halloween will look like in ten years.

Halloween today:

Pumpkin carving:  Zach and Grace each crafted their own jack-o-lantern faces.  I was barely involved.  (Hooray!)
Pumpkin cupcakes:  Purchased from Costco, put in the garage fridge and . . . forgotten.  Oops.
Dinner:  Turkey enchiladas.

Trick-or-treating:  Took the dog and Grace around our neighborhood, maybe 1.5 miles total.  About a quarter of the houses participated.  We came across several groups of grown-ups gathered in driveways, sitting in lawn chairs.  One group offered us hot chocolate at a table with a banner that said, “Parents Pit Stop.”  Temperature was about 68 degrees.
Candy consumption:  As a good and dutiful mother, I made the ultimate sacrifice and ate all the fun-sized Almond Joys.
Candy distribution:  14-year old son dressed as injured Santa (crutch, sling and bandaged head) to pass out full-sized candy bars.  Reportedly only three kids came to our house.  (We do not live on the main loop.)
Costumes:  Grace was a “Cute Witch” and the dog wore a striped Convict’s uniform that said “BAD DOG” which she is.

Important life lesson imparted to daughter:  Always pee before you leave the house.

Important dog lesson learned:  To ensure perfect evening dog behavior, take dog for a mile and a half walk at noon, then take dog trick-or-treating for two hours while covering another mile and a half.  One hundred percent money-back guarantee.