So I have to admit that I HATE Hallowe'en. But not for any Christian reason. I actually think that it is a good idea IN THEORY. It is a nice opportunity for community togetherness. Neighbours can visit, admire the costumes, etc. And that did happen for us. We went to "Trick or Treat" at our friend Donalda's house. We actually brought a treat to give to Donalda's husband, Jim. The kids hand-decorated 15 golf balls for Jim the golf enthusiast. We had a nice time there. Dan was dressed up as a geek. He was wearing dress pants, a dress shirt, an ugly tie, geek glasses held together with masking tape & his new retainer. Jim said he actually thought Dan looked nice & that he would fit right in at his office. Then a neighbour of Jim's saw Dan outside & asked if Dan had just raided Jim's closet. Much laughter, much fun. Back in our neighborhood the street is teaming with children. There are about 20 children that live on our street. There were 180 trick or treaters on our street. People come from all over to our neighborhood because the houses are tightly packed together & so you can get a good haul. In the Maritimes people take Hallowe'en very seriously. This actually bothered me a bit when we first moved here on Hallowe'en night 8 years ago. But now I've gotten used to gravestones on people's lawns that say "RIP" on them. I don't mind that one of our neighbours sets up her entire house as a "haunted house" & invites all the kids inside. She is a good neighbour, gives great treats & around 8 pm does a fireworks display in the park behind her house. But the life-sized goulish looking guy with a noose around his neck was too much for me. And the 2 guys dressed up as characters from Friday the 13th, with another guy popping up from a casket put me over the edge. I hussled Sam past this. He has enough trouble with the green/grey/purple imaginary monsters of his dreams.
And if these horrors are not enough there is the candy craziness. Poor Sammy just can't handle it. And they leave chip crumbs in my bedsheets, candy wrappers on the floor, discarded lollipops in corners, etc. I told the kids tonight, "all candy will be terminated on Friday morning". Call me a bad sport. I don't care. Three days of all you can eat candy & throwing the wrappers anywhere is quite enough for me. Please note that not ALL children have been "offenders". I think the older kids are trying to use garbage cans. And Matt ate some candy but handed the rest over to Dan today. He says he doesn't want to get fat.
This all sounds very negative. Let me say the weather has been beautiful here - very autumnish. I am incredibly thankful because I thought that we weren't going to have much of a fall. But the colours on the trees have been glorious. The fall sunlight is amazing. We've been going to this nature park called the "Frog Pond" & I just keep praising God for the glory of it all. Every time you turn the corner there is another breath-taking view.
1 comment:
Marsha, we invented something a few years ago called the Sugar Witch. She shows up a few days after Halloween (she usually emails when she's coming) and the kids put out a collective bowlful of anything they're willing to part with...in the morning the candy is gone (except for a few wrappers scattered around) and the Sugar Witch leaves something non-edible in return like a video. (Her generosity depends on the amount of the loot she gets, because she eats everything she takes, and of course her teeth are just black stumps.)
The SW is never seen but she's been very effective. I think she's heading this way tonight.
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