Halloween Musings

Happy (late) Halloween! I hope everyone had a great one! Josh and I got dressed in our costumes early and enjoyed the whole day as a "bone collector" and a "nice witch." Josh made his costume and looked amazing! We didn't take any pictures (dangit!) but he got a tacky suit coat and slacks from the D.I. and then sewed plastic bones on the front and insides of the coat. He also put two skulls on the shoulders. Then he wore a white, Albert Einstein-like wig and dyed his beard, mustache and eyebrows white. Add the awesome, crazy voice and hunched-over walk and you have the best bone collector there ever was! I had a black dress and shoes and wore a blond wig with a purple witches hat and a purple broom. It was a lot of fun!

Last night, after getting home from our own trick-or-treating adventures, we put the finishing touches on our decorations, preparing our apartment for the trick-or-treaters we hoped would come. We put up paper lanterns and fixed our fallen down spider webs. Josh put two plastic skulls in the window with candles behind them so they appeared to be glowing. Add a cd with creepy Halloween sounds and we were ready for the night. We then put on "The Proposal" and anxiously awaited the sounds of little feet and voices. At 9:15 our only trick-or-treaters came. There was a knock on the door and no "trick or treat" was said. I told the 3 kids to take whatever they wanted. They all took handfuls and one little girl greedily took a second. Josh and I can't be sure, but we think there was one "thank you" voiced.

I was kindof disappointed with this Halloween experience. When Josh and I were trick-or-treating you always shouted "trick-or-treat" at the door and were polite-even if the person said take whatever you want you didn't try to grab as much as you could. And there was always a thank you said for everything. Has Halloween really changed that much? I think it's sad when children just expect to be handed everything and aren't greatful for what they receive. And it seems to me that trust has also been lost from those long ago days when we were children. I know many stores and churches have trick-or-treating so that children don't do the traditional house-to-house. Again, how sad that parents can't be assured of their children's safety on this one night!