Ghosts and Goblins Oh My!

10/31/2014

Halloween has changed a great deal from my childhood days.  Perhaps yours too.  Mom allowed us kids to go out and get as much candy as our bags could carry.  The earliest Halloween I remember was when Mom made my brother and I King and Queen costumes out of crepe paper.  I believe my costume was made from purple crepe paper and while my brother and I were out that night, it rained.  No big deal you're thinking, but you'd be wrong.  The crepe paper bled and by the time I got home I was a lovely shade of lavender!

When we lived in France, my brother and I and our friends were allowed to go door to door again by ourselves.  The now constant worry about razor blades in apples or things like that didn't exist in the 50's.  You knocked on the door, and costume or not, you got candy.  Delightful.

The next place we lived was on an Air Force base which was closed to only authorized visitors.  Again, we hit the streets.  In those days, my brother and I would indulge our sweet tooth(s) by eating candy from our bag.  Today?  Not so much.

When our boys were old enough to go trick or treating, either Jeff or I stayed home while the other one pulled a wagon with one or both of the boys inside, along with one or both costumes and their candy.  Pulling the boys, even though they were young, definitely qualified as aerobic exercise!

A difference between the days when my brother and I and eventually my sister went out on Halloween was that the boys were not supposed to eat any candy until they got home.  Now I wasn't born yesterday, so I'm pretty sure that was followed to the "T", but I tried.

We followed the same deal with the boys as my parents had, which was that all the candy collected that night was dumped on the dining room table to "share" (more or less). I always threw away unwrapped candy as well as homemade popcorn balls and caramel apples. I appreciated the time and effort it took to make these goodies, but while I was never paranoid, I just didn't feel comfortable with those items.  I always wanted the Smarties candy as well as candy corn.  Disclaimer: as an adult I still like both of these!

Jeff and I live on a court at the top of the hill.  Our street which back when we first moved in was filled with the sounds of children's laughter, now is much quieter.  There are only a few homes left on our street that still have children at home.  The rest of us are either retired or have children in college.  We bought one bag of candy, which should be enough since the decision to either walk up and down our hill for perhaps a few houses handing out candy, is an easy one for most kids to make.  Even I don't like to walk up the hill - that's why they invented cars!

Tonight be sure to get your sugar fix!

P