Good Monday morning! There are only ten days until Halloween. I have loved this holiday since I was a kid, wearing the plastic costume that came in the box with the mask that made breathing impossible. I loved Halloween party day when I was a teacher. I loved the little seven-year-olds laughing when I couldn't tell who they were in their costumes. I loved the simple but festive cupcakes with orange icing and the cups of orange Kool-Aid sitting on their little wooden desks when they returned from the costume parade.
I loved Halloween with my little ones, who started thinking about their costumes in July when the magazines began arriving in the mail. I loved planning Halloween night dinner and rushing to put costumes on before loading up in the van with plastic pumpkin buckets waiting to be filled with candy. Steve drove, and I organized, sorting wands, capes, coats, and masks. Each year, the kids grew older and taller, and the costumes changed - except my little Cinderella, who made an appearance several years in a row - and I remember vividly sitting in the van watching them go house to house, thinking that one Halloween night would be the last time for dress up and candy. I need not have worried.
We still celebrate Halloween here. The kids still dress up, and now we have a Halloween party complete with a costume contest, games, prizes, and festive food. Someday, I know, this too will end. Someday, my four will have families of their own, and while I will miss this fun, spooky time with them, I have so many happy memories of Halloweens past to look back on and smile.
