Halloween is around the corner…. In fact just 10 days away.
It is a super-charged time for me. Firstly, it brings up significant memories for me. Secondly, this Halloween will be the 3rd year anniversary of our daughter’s formal autism diagnosis… A day our life changed forever!
However, on that Halloween in 2008, I came home and I couldn't breathe…. I was in a stupor for 3 days. Ironically, in hindsight it reminds me of how I felt in the hard plastic masks we couldn’t breathe in as a child; they got unbearably hot as the night went on… which was odd since we lived on the water and the wind chill was certainly cold under the plastic princess dress that didn’t let you move properly and was sure to tear before we made it down even the first street in Jamestown.
No, I didn’t grow up in Virginia…. I don’t know how the community got the nick name other than there was a street close to our Catholic Church called James Street. And the little neighborhood nestled between Lake Erie, the park and the Catholic Church was known as Jamestown; everyone knew everyone back then. All the kids attended the K-12 school and all their parents had gone to school together and their parents and the parents before them.
(This was a nice part of growing up in a small Ohio town.)
On this night, all the cars from the families that lived on the outskirts would roll in and hundreds of kids would pave up and down the street while their parents were nestled warmly in the car waving to the elderly folks on the doorstep. House to house… until the last house of the night… Grandma’s House! That was the best stop, not really because it was Grandma (although this is one of my fondest memories of her)… but she was sure to give us the best treat of the night!!
We would pile back into the car and Mom would remind us not to eat ANY of the candy in our pillow case (our make shift bag) except the one from Grandma; of course because that would be the safest piece of candy in the bag. I am not sure what was in the news those years… I was little, but even though everyone knew everyone, we were not allowed to eat one piece until our parents checked the loot to make sure it was safe to consume… with no pins or tears in the wrapping.
On the way home, Dad would drive around the horn (the quiet peninsula on Lake Erie; another nickname I am not sure the history of) with the window cracked just enough to flick his cigarette ashes as we excitedly pestered our Mom until she said, “Okay, now you can eat your Hershey Bar!” Grandma’s Candy Bar was surely THE best piece of candy in the bag!!
Other memories float in the recess of my mind like the year my Brother made a homemade costume for the Fire Station Costume Contest… a huge pumpkin made out of mesh wire and newspaper with glue water painted bright orange. Not only did he win, but he fell walking down Jamestown and rolled down the street… Hysterical even to an 8 year old!
Or the year when we were much older and my siblings took me to my first Haunted House…. Which was pure terror even for a 16 year old. The ‘werewolf’ (not the warm and sunny kind that Jacob is in New Moon) picked up on my fear and ran with it. He wouldn’t leave me alone as we waited over an hour in line to go through… I was so scared I PICKED MY BROTHER UP and barricaded myself between him and a large tree. Mind you I was a tiny adolescent… could blow away in the wind; Fear and Adrenaline was my strength!! On the way home we laughed so hard we cried.
Halloween was a fun holiday!! As I moved grew older I still came home during my college years, dressed up and went Trick or Treating with my niece in Jamestown…
My husband and I had our first date on Oct. 27, 1988! We were supposed to go to a HauntedHouse, but ended up at
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.
Every year since, we watch a scary movie in honor of our first date. On our first Halloween Married, we went to a costume party as a Biker and his Bitch... we had a blast when no one recognized my new hubby! We went home the next day to celebrate what unknown to us would be my Father's last birthday. My Dad about flipped out when she saw my fake tatto... he thought it was real!! Of course, I milked the situation as best as I could until I thought he was going to kill me.... not really.
As we became parents ourselves, my love for Halloween continued. I loved seeing my little ones dressed up as little cows and ladybugs!! Of course they never ate the candy; I would take it in to my office and give it to my clients. On my oldest daughter’s fifth Halloween she handmade her costume…. Tinker Bell!!! She picked out the fabric, cut it, hand stitched it… for weeks she worked diligently on it. Taking pride and care in each stitch…
On that Beggar’s Night, we went Trick or Treating with a group of other parents and their kids. They were on a mission to get as much candy as possible, running from house to house. One mother had our whole route planned out to hit the most houses… as if she couldn’t afford to buy her own kid a Twix (said with a little contempt in my voice)! BUT, Emily didn’t go up to half the houses that night!! She danced n twirled like a real Pixie, while telling everyone who would listen about how she had made her own Tinker Bell Costume. She rolled down hills of leaves and was happy being removed from the drama around her.
Every year since, we have hand made our costumes… with a family theme:
Harry Potter, Toy Story, Fairy Tales, Egyptians, Puppies and Dog Catchers, And this year… Ancients!!
ANCEINTS… people or concepts of people that are from our past that still influence us today (Emily’s idea)… Ancestors that are from many many generations before us still bringing us enlightenment! Over the years, Halloween has become as significant to her as to me. I am sure on Nov. 1 she will be asking, “So, what do you want to be next year?”
On the Middle School bus yesterday, the kids were boasting about smashing pumpkins and taking the whole bowl of candy left on porches… my eldest daughter came home expressing how stunned she was. Emily said she couldn’t believe the disrespect and immaturity the kids were bragging about. When she called them on it, they gave her a hard time and asked, “Well, what do you do for fun then on Halloween?”
She, very matter of fact, told them she walked around with her family… They balked at her, but she continued to tell them about our family themes, and how her sister was diagnosed with Autism on Halloween 3 years ago. So for her little sister to design her own costume this year was a big deal; and supporting her sister was more important than the junk they were stealing.
She told me some of the kids got quiet, but the bully just went on with her rhetoric, but she didn’t mind. She said that she understands most families are not as close as we are… and she found that to be sad. She is very insightful… perhaps a true Ancient resides within her!!
This morning as I laid out our material and the intricate plans Emily has sketched for us for the construction of these costumes… I am reminded how Halloween has signified so many moments in my life! It isn’t about the loot and the monsters or the devil as some religious persons believe. It is about clean fun, family and creating memories with our children.
…This year will be no different. We will spend the next 10 days diligently working on our costumes for a night of family fun complete with Trick or Treating, Pumpkin Carving, Hot Homemade Chili waiting to warm us up afterwards…. AND FAMILY MILESTONES!!
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