Halloween

Halloween is my favorite holiday. It's fun and silly and a celebration. It has a fascinating history, but has been altered to fit culture and society. And, Halloween is always exactly what you expect it to be.

One of the primary flaws in holiday celebrations is that we set our expectations too high. We want a magical midnight kiss on New Year's Eve. We curiously unwrap gifts hoping for the perfect delight several times a year. We anxiously anticipate cards, well wishes, and parties only to look back and think they fell short. That's not to say that all holidays are disappointing or that they don't deliver any joy. It's just that they are inconsistent. You don't know if your expectations will be met. Some people love that gamble, that anticipation. Not me.

All those expectations and critical thoughts are unfair. They deplete the joy. But, we do it anyway. Halloween has never been like that for me. It's always just want is expected. Even the unpredictable parts of Halloween are easily planned and prepared for; ensuring success.

I don't dress in costume beyond a set of cat ears or a Halloween earrings and socks. I've long since learned that I don't find costumes fun. But, no one cares if you dress or not for Halloween. You are invited to enjoy no matter your level of participation (1 point for Halloween).

I help the kids choose costumes that allow them to move around and allow the addition of a coat or jacket under or over if necessary. We usually start with something store bought, but often add our own finishing touches. We spend months talking about and selecting Halloween costumes. Rachel changes her mind a lot as the day draws near, so we don't make our final selection until mid-October.

We play a game in our neighborhood where you sneak up on a house and leave a bag of candy and a sign that the people have been visited by a Halloween ghost. They are instructed to visit three more people leaving candy. Every time we are visited we're thrilled. We carefully pick who to visit next hoping that they won't figure out who we are. Rachel runs up to the door to ring the bell and drop the bag while I keep them motor running on the street. She dives back into the car with and we slowly drive away. (Safety first.)

Funny Kate Story... When Kate was 3, I wanted her to wear the Tasmanian Devil costume that Rachel had worn wore when she was almost 3, but since Kate is so tall, I wasn't sure it would fit. I got it out to try on her and when she saw it she thought it was really funny. She liked that is was so fuzzy and cuddly and cute. It's one of those big plush costumes that is a body suit and you step in and zip up the front and then your head is peaking out of the animal's mouth.

So, I'm putting it on Kate and she's looking down at the row of teeth that will be going along her belly and she realizes what's happening and starts screaming, "It's eating me!" I try to reassure her that it's just a costume and that she likes it and it's fun, but she's pleading with me, "Mommy. Help. It's eating me." I just keep putting the costume on.

Once the costume is on, she calms down and I'm showing her how cute she is with her little paws and then I take her to the mirror so she can see the whole image. When she sees herself with her face sticking out of the mouth, she loses it again, "It's eating me! It's eating me!" So, I take the whole thing off and I'm holding her and saying that I'm sorry and that she's safe and that it was just a toy costume and I wouldn't let anything eat her. She looks at me with her wet-from-tears face and says, "I just wanted to be a mermaid."

Well, we have a mermaid costume too. Rachel wore that a couple years later. So, I get it out and she puts it on and she dances and "swims" around the house and is the happiest girl.

That's the magic of Halloween.