Tricks and Treats and Births!

I have always enjoyed Halloween although I never really considered it a "real" holiday but when I was little I loved getting dressed up and going out with my sister and cousins getting free candy. Back then there were no cell phones so if we were a tad late coming home we would try to sneak in and pretend that we didn't know what time it was. It didn't work but we tried. Back then my sister and I never brought costumes we always just used what we had in the house and dressed up in whatever and made our own costumes. One year, my aunt and uncle had just come back from Hawaii a couple weeks before Halloween and they brought us back some souvenirs. I got a fake grass shirt, a lay, and a fake flower for my hair so that year I was a hula dancer. I put the skirt on over my pants and all the other stuff on and I was the talk of the neighborhood. I can't remember what my sister was but probably something similar. One year I was a hobo, dressed in old clothes that were too big a little and mis matched. Another year I was a homemaker with curlers in my hair, a robe and tennis shoes. And one year I was just dressed up in my mom's old clothes and called myself a professional woman. Everyone used to say that my costumes were so creative. My father took us out and my mom stayed home. 

So, every year since my son was about 2 we have been going out trick or treating. This year, as in every year since we have moved to this neighborhood almost, we have gone to our old neighborhoods to trick or treat. Because around here there are mostly apartments and businesses and nobody really gives out anything. And we like to go and see how things have changed back in our two old neighborhoods. We only have two that we have lived in since he was born plus this one. So, my son bugs me as soon as he wakes up in the morning about what time we are going and what he is going to bring to put his candy in and he was more anxious then I was at his age. The time finally came, almost. My sister wanted to come and so after work she came over and we went to take her to cash her check and on the road we were trying to figure out where to go. We passed by our first old neighborhood in Albany, CA. Drove down the street we used to live on and they fixed up our old house we used to live in with lights and halloween decorations and it looked really nice. There were a large group of kids already in line trying to get to the door to get some free candy. We decided to do a little more driving. We saw a few more kids out, mostly little kids under 5 and so we made the decision to go to our last old neighborhood north of where we live now.

The street we used to live on at the time we used to live there was filled with kids mostly around the same age as my son was back then. One neighbor used to laugh and say that the neighborhood was filled with 2 year olds. There were a few senior citizens who had been there for years and owned their homes and knew us because at that time we lived in my grandmother's old house and everyone knew her and they always saw us coming and going over the years. So, we were known as Elsie's grand kids and great grand kids. 

Well, we couldn't go trick or treating on that block because it was blocked off and no cars were permitted to go down that street nor were any lights on in any of the houses.  I guess that street was boycotting Halloween. The scrooge of Halloween lived on that street, all of the new people who moved there probably.  I don't know who lives on that block now. The last time we trick or treated that block was two or three years ago but times have sure changed down there. There was only one house that was decorated and that house sat on the corner, not really connected to that street.  I was speechless.  But, I was thinking that was okay we had other houses and places to go to around there. 

We migrated near the little tot park and parked. Now, there they celebrated Halloween like it should be celebrated. Almost every house was decorated with pumpkins and lights and ghosts and it was like a Halloween wonderland. My son was happy and so was I. We got out of the car and proceeded to trick or treat every house we saw decorated and that was a lot of houses. In the first fifteen minutes his small happy meal sized Halloween bucket was almost full. Not only did they give candy away but they gave you more then one. Halloween bliss came over everyone. I was getting ready for my personal sugar high once we got home. I almost got tempted to eat a few bite size snickers bars before we got home but I restrained myself and my son and we carried on.  What we did notice was a lot more families were together trick or treating. I saw a lot of grandmothers and grandfathers going along with the parents of the kids enjoying Halloween just as much as they were. They giggled along with the kids at the sight of all the decorated porches and jumped when they got to houses that played scary Halloween music. They chatted with me about their grand kids and about their memories of Halloween. The parents were busy taking pictures of kids who for the most part were all under 7 and making sure the said thank you after they got their treats. It was nice. Some parents dressed up with their kids. I was not one of those. Even though I enjoy Halloween my days of dressing up I think are gone with the wind.  But, the parents who did dress up were cute. 

We stopped at one house and this older woman opened the door who kind of reminded me of  my own grandmother. She asked my son who he was, which was Naurto, and she asked all about his costume and asked him could he hold on a minute because her 90 year old mother wanted to see his costume. He proudly stood on the porch and waited for her to see him and told her all about his costume and the cartoon which gave him the costume idea.  They talked to him for a little bit and gave him more candy and told him to have a nice night. I think that was the best part about trick or treating, those two ladies who were interested in the stories my son had to tell about his costume. 

On the way home the night just got better. Not because of the boat load of candy that I was secretly plotting on "stealing" some from my son and putting myself on a mini sugar high, which was pretty darn good too, but my sister got a text from her step daughter who said that she had had her baby girl.  So, we had two reasons to celebrate Halloween this year. And next year we will have a new person to take trick or treating with us. It can't get better than that.