I don’t know what it is about being an adult and enjoying the holidays and seasons more. Perhaps it’s because as you grow older, the faster the years seem to go, and the sweeter the memories of the past become. For instance, I know I am not the only adult who enjoys Halloween. When I was a kid, the adults never dressed up for the celebration, but today, there are so many adult costumes and adult Halloween parties. The same is true for decorating the house for Halloween. My neighbors across the street have been decorating for Halloween for almost a month. Every time I look out the window, I see something new added to their home and lawn. And at night, their lit-up house is the only one on the block announcing, “It’s coming! Can you feel it in the air?”
I decorate for the season, too, though my home has no witches or giant spiders looming from the shutters. I put out mums and pumpkins, and male and female scarecrows flank either side of my front porch. Inside, there are pumpkins and fall décor in all the downstairs rooms. And yes, like so many others, I’m into pumpkin-scented candles and pumpkin-flavored everything. My pumpkin spice coffee with pumpkin spice creamer gives me the perfect jumpstart I need each morning.
Nowadays, I enjoy looking at all the Halloween items in stores as much as I do the Christmas things. The only thing I don’t enjoy about this season is that I now pay $15 for a bag of treats to give the trick-or-treaters. I’ll have to buy two big bags and one small before it’s all said and done, as we get bombarded by little tricksters on the big night. We are sometimes the only neighbors to have our lights on for trick-or-treaters. Perhaps it’s the cost of the candy that keeps others from participating. It’s also possible that because our neighborhood is predominantly made up of senior citizens, they feel overwhelmed or even anxious about all the strangers that can show up and pound on the door and peer in windows expectantly. For now, though, I enjoy it.
For years, my husband and I lived in the country and never had a single child visit our home on Halloween night, though there were children who lived just a bit down the road. Country children drive to towns for Halloween fun and enjoy activities at churches, YMCAs, schools, or “trunk or treat” events in parking lots. But when Tom and I moved to a town three years ago, we got a big surprise. Halloween was observed over two nights, and there was banging on the door for the first time in our lives. We had just a little over 200 trick-or-treaters in two nights. Some were small and couldn’t speak sentences yet, while others were teenagers, not even wearing costumes but trying hard to hang on to be their childhood selves.
I knew they would come. I hoped they would come. Though I adore my beautiful grandchildren, I don’t get to see them as often as I like, and I need to have children in my life. I delight in watching kids grow and feel very alive around them.
When our first trick-or-treaters arrived, I would jump up and speed to the door to welcome them and let them pick through the treat bowl. As more and more children came knocking, my husband couldn’t believe it, and he started answering the door, too. It turns out that this big ol’ guy who pretends not to care about such nonsense does enjoy it and likes being the one to hand out treats.
I may have white hair and move slightly slower, but my heart is still young, and I enjoy playing. So, I am ready for the little darlings and can hardly wait to see what they wear and pretend to be this year. Maybe I will wear a costume too this year and surprise them when I answer the door!
For this month’s Recommended Reads, I’ve reviewed an old favorite of mine, The Bake Shop Ghost by Jacqueline Ogden – a super sweet ghost story just in time for Halloween.
And under the Activities section of this blog, be sure to check out my instructions for making a beautiful Fall Leaf Luminary.
Little Seeds Read 