Halloween…
It’s been so much fun this year watching Facebook
friends post pictures of their little costumed ghosties, goblins, princesses,
Nemo fish, good witches, etc. When my nephew and his wife invited his parents (my
sister and brother-in-law) and us (Todd and me) to their new home to pass out
candy for their subdivision trick-or-treat event, we couldn’t resist the fun. My
nephew (dressed as Superman), his wife (dressed as Mini Mouse) and their
3-year-old daughter (one of those ‘good witches’ I mentioned) set out for an
hour and a half of frightening excitement. The four of us sat huddled on their dark
front porch, ready to participate in the fun. We were manned with huge tubs of chocolate
and fruity candies, ready to drop into their neighborhood kids’ open bags. We
watched as tractors (decked out as lighted parade floats) pulled carts full of
kids to their spooky destinations.
Mini Mouse, Superman, and the 'good witch' ;)
As my sister and I exchanged banter of our
own trick-or-treat days, memories of Halloweens past came flooding back to me.
When I was very little, my older siblings took me
trick-or-treating. That was back when the holiday really did take place on the
31st of October, while it was dark outside. But pretty early on I
remember great hullabaloo when our city, and most surrounding areas, switched
trick-or-treat to after-school or weekend daylight hours. That’s when I started
going out with friends, no adults required. If the times were set from 4 till
7, then we started at 4 and finished at 7. None of these, “I’m tired,” or “I’m
cold” excuses from me – Nosiree! I think I trick-or-treated through age 13 - 8th
grade. After that, I handed out candy - after all, somebody has to do it.
Whenever we asked our parents, “What should I be for
Halloween?” They pointed to the old box of props in the closet and suggested
their old stand-by, “Well, there’s a ‘nose and glasses’ you could wear.” OR
there was the ever-popular suggestion, “Smear Vaseline on your face and cover
it with coffee grinds – makes for a great beard!” Ick – no thanks… Our costumes turned out to be pretty simple –
usually whatever we could find in our closets. Black pants and a black turtle
neck worked nicely as a black cat. One year I became a musician by wearing a flannel
shirt and blue jeans, and strapping a cut-out wooden guitar on my back.
I know that Halloween has always had a dark side,
but in my life, I’ve always had lots of fun celebrating the holiday. Why, even
at the conservative church where I grew up, we had youth group Halloween
parties. Some of the older kids would transform a storage closet into a haunted
house. Remember that old story about the guy - peeled grapes were his eyes, and
cold spaghetti his brains? Yes… All things
I learned from Halloween parties of my youth; and all things I passed on to my own
kids.
In high school I went to my first reeeaaaalll haunted house – one of those
seasonal money-makers for charity. Suffice to say it was nothing like the
innocent ones from my church basement days. The dark hallways and strangely-lit
scenes of horror scared me more than words can tell. Yes, I screamed and yes, I
cowered… Although, if the truth be told,
it was pretty much fun too, depending on whom I was with… and whose hand I held. ;)
Megan, Tony, and Todd :)
Todd has always loved holidays – all holidays. We took our kids to pumpkin
farms, and sat around the dining room table, each creating and carving a face
or image of our liking. My own jack-o-lanterns were very traditional: triangle
eyes, a square nose, and a jagged-tooth mouth. Todd often tried his hand at
more trendy options such as black cats with whiskers. Even after a long day of
work, he enjoyed carving pumpkins and especially taking the kids out
trick-or-treating. As a kid he had also participated in the marathon door-to-door
ritual, just like I had. He’d leave his home at the designated time and not
return until the clock struck the end time. As our own kids grew, our neighbors
would sometimes ask if their children could tag along; but their longevity and
commitment to Todd’s, Tony’s and Megan’s Halloween trick-or-treat sessions
could not be matched. I’d see them all return to drop off the exhausted
neighbor, only to turn around and leave again, heading the other direction. J (I always handed out the candy.) I think that
of all the traditions we’ve participated in through the years, the kids probably
remember this as the ‘best of times’ with their dad.
And so here we are. Our city re-instituted October 31
(in the dark) as traditional trick-or-treat. I still pass out the candy. Todd
tries to get home from work in time to enjoy some of the little ones in their
sweet costumes. We’ve (almost always) decorated our porch with a ghost, some
lit-up pumpkins, and even some scary guys sometimes. Never let it be said that
the Memmels are not good sports!
I must say that to this day, at night, this is a neighborhood fav,!
No matter what stage of life we’re in, I hope that
Todd and I will continue to find the childlike amusement of Halloween. Here’s
hoping for some good, clean fun for us all this spooky season!
Katie
Kolberg Memmel is the author of “Five Fingers, Ten Toes – A Mother’s Story of
Raising a Child Born with a Limb Difference.” For more information about her
and her book, go to her website at www.katiekolbergmemmel.com
