Thursday, October 29, 2009

Spinning Halloween

I loved Halloween as a kid.  I remember going out with friends in the neighborhood - the dads would take the kids out and the moms would stay home giving out the candy.  There were a few neighbors that would give the dads their own treats (in frosty cans), and we'd travel the block and beyond in a big pack, each with a pillow case for our loot, crunching through leaves. 
My mom sewed a lot when I was little, so she made me some great costumes - Raggedy Ann, with red yarn wig, and a bright yellow and green clown with a big white collar with ric-rac around the edges are a few that stand out in my mind.  One year when I was nine or ten, my dad decided that I should be a die, as in one half of a pair of dice.  He got a big cardboard box and cut it down to a cube, painted it white and painted on the dots.  I remember it being really cold that year, and I was the only one that didn't mind wearing my big, puffy jacket!
In Jr. High, I stumbled across my grandfathers tuxedo (with tails AND collapsible top hat!) in the attic, and that was my costume for a number of years.  It is probably still hanging in the back of the closet in what was my room at my parent's house.
After The Mailman and I got married, we bought a house on a busy street in town and went for years without having a single trick or treater ring the bell.  I dutifully bought candy every year, "just in case."  And then The Mailman and I ate all the candy.  The Girl is a September baby, and was just a month old when we took her out for her first Halloween, dressed as a flower.  She was adorable and slept through the whole thing.  We took her to see all the grandparents and The Mailman stocked up on Resse's cups "for her." 
We moved to our current house a few years later, and it is at the end of a pretty long dead end street so I figured we'd have a boatload of trick or treaters, but we really don't get too many.  The street doesn't have a lot of kids, but it is starting to change over as some of the older folks move out or pass away and the younger people are moving in.  Unfortunately, there aren't too many kids The Girl's age, but we keep hoping.  Her one friend across the street goes to her aunt's house in a nearby town to trick or treat, where they apparently give out "the good candy."  So, we'll still go to visit the grandparents, and The Mailman and I will split the duties taking The Girl out.  So far, she's okay with the plan.  We'll see what happens next year!
The Mailman and The Girl will be carving the pumpkins tonight or tomorrow, so I'll post pictures when they do.  It is funny, because I always carved a pumkin before The Girl was born, and The Mailman really didn't show any interest (Halloween isn't really his "thing," excpet for the Resse's cups).  A few years ago, though, once she was old enough to be part of the process, he took over the carving duties.  They sit side by side at the table, and I'm only there to clean up the muck.

Check out some more Halloween Spins over at Jenn's haunted house.  It isn't too scary, I promise!

And remember, as a wise man named Linus once said, "You've heard of the fury of a woman scorned, haven't you? Well, that's nothing compared to the fury of a woman who has been cheated out of trick-or-treats."

4 comments:

  1. Great Spin! We're looking forward to taking Sprite out for the first time this year. She never really got it until now. We'll see how it goes. :-)
    You're linked!

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  2. I don't know why, but last year we did not have too many stop by. We live in a townhouse that has a front and back door accessible to the street. So often, the kids ring the front door, only to appear at the back door a few minutes later.

    Great Spin!

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  3. You know, that really should be a mother's REAL title: Official Muck Cleaner. We just do so much of it.

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  4. I got stuck on you married the mailman..lol Great spin!

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