Halloween is an awesome holiday. You get to dress your kids up, take the obligatory “Halloween” pictures, and then go off to visit neighbor’s houses, see the holiday decorations, score some candy, make some nice conversation, and sometimes score a glass of wine while strolling with the kids. Unless you plan accordingly and have your own traveling mug of “maybe this is water or maybe this is tequila/vodka/gin.” Um, maybe that is only me? I digress.
Last year, about mid year, my daughter told me that she wanted to be a vampire. I mean, I was truly taken aback by this, but you know, I want her to exercise her decision-making skills so I reluctantly agreed to her costume selection. My son has been into trains for a few years so I already knew what outfit to get him.
As September came around, my daughter suddenly decided she no longer wanted to go trick or treating. And she convinced my son too. I asked her why and she told me that she was afraid to go trick or treating. I was in denial and I continued to ask her for a few weeks, until the end of September. Luckily I didn’t purchase the Halloween costumes at this time. We rolled into October and she strongly suggested that she would absolutely not go trick or treating. I was in absolute shock.
My disappointment was apparent. I was upset because I never was able to go trick or treating. The last time I went trick or treating I was five and my parents took me around the buildings that we lived in. My parents knew the houses we went to, so it wasn’t a big thing, until the following year. I know I am going to date myself, but here we go. The next year I was all set with my Halloween costume. I was Ms. Pac Man. I wore the outfit to school and then we were going to go trick or treating later on in the evening. This particular year was when people started to put needles and razor blades in the chocolate that was being given out. So, I never went trick or treating that year or any year since then.
You can say that I am reliving my youth through my children, and I will say that you are correct. I was hurt that I never had the chance to go out trick or treating. I was, instead, given the opportunity to hand out the candy to the kids that came to the door. And as I got a little older, I would take pictures of the unique costumes, as if to live out a childhood event that I never took part of.
Halloween is coming around again and I will ask my children what they want to dress up as for Halloween. Here’s to hoping they give me a few options to purchase so I can bring them out to celebrate this year.
