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Friday night is Halloween, the night when between the designated hours of 6 and 8 PM children (and those who accompany them) will come to the house for Trick or Treat. After a difficult evening last year, we decided to do the candy handout from the garage this time. Why? The doors to the garage are not clogged with vines waiting to trip the unwary. No overgrown trees block the way to the door. The lights, being new last summer, illuminate the area right by the doors and to some degree the driveway headed away from the house. So instead of waiting for the front lights to go on automatically (which they don't), the new lights go on at the turn of a switch when I WANT THEM TO. There is no frantic banging on the door because the doorbell, minus a working battery, remains silent. Parents can easily see where their children are. And accompanying pets are welcomed.
This year I sent Halloween cards to children I will not see except in photographs Emailed to me by thoughtful parents and grandparents. Memories of making my own children's costumes over the years come back when I watch the parade of this year's characters extending their bags for candy. Images of Jaws®, unicorns, witches, and astronauts flash before me. As a sentimental mother, I kept some of the costumes along with precious toys, books, and clothes of years gone by. At first I thought I was saving them for future grandchildren, but now with a grandchild who is lucky enough to have 2 sets of grandparents, many of these things are shared by two families. So I don't have to part with all of them. This year's Halloween is fairly easy, actually. The children will come in safely to me, minus the foliage waiting to snare them. The grills will have been put into the barn, the hose will have been wrapped up, and the dogs will be inside (much to their displeasure, I'm sure). If last year is any indication, the "traffic" of children will be light and everything will be over by the proscribed hour of 8 PM. This is in stark contrast to Halloween back in New Jersey, where living in a development involved considerable preparation and cost. I really enjoyed decorating my foyer and making favors to hold the candy, rather than just handing pieces of it out. The kids-perhaps 100 of them--seemed to like it also, as if I put some thought into celebrating this occasion with them. I remember one year, however, when the usual "treating" part of the night was put in jeopardy when there were reports of candy given out that contained RAZOR BLADES. This scare caused many families to skip the candy and find other "treats". I knew one neighbor who gave out pens; the elderly lady across the street handed out apples; and I think I gave out cans of Coke™ that year. Everyone was scared and it really spoiled the holiday. After that, people on the street began putting their names on what they gave out so that parents could go through their children's bags and approve of the source. So far the weather seems amenable to going out in costumes. Although the thermometer says "44", it went up into the 60's yesterday and was beautiful. The weathermen try to frighten us with warnings that a BIG DROP IN TEMPERATURE is going to happen. I hope it waits, and this incredible fall can last. Every morning now, when I take the dogs for their "big walk", the birds are going crazy. There are three trees here that produce berries that must have a delicious flavor. Those trees are full of birds, feeding while they can. Wherever a branch has fallen, Skittles and Patches rush over to feast on those berries as well. At first I was afraid of them being sick, but over time they were OK and I ceased worrying about it. Thank goodness dogs can's climb trees! Just Mom |
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