Rediscovering Halloween

When I was a kid, I hated Halloween. I absolutely hated it. The night usually ended in tears, with me crying. I was a painfully shy kid and the idea of dressing up and going to stranger's houses was certainly not a fun one. I celebrated the Halloween when I was technically too old to trick and treat. Staying at home and handing out candy suited me just fine.

I'm still not big on dressing up, but I'm starting to understand why people like Halloween. It is kind of magical in a way. People decorate their houses, get to carve pumpkins and hand out candy to the spooky little ghosts and goblins that haunt their doorsteps. And of course there is the candy. Halloween wouldn't be complete without candy.

Last night, dear husband and I decided at the last moment to take darling daughter trick and treating. Our initial plan was to dress her up and have her "help" hand out candy to the kids. But since we had such a stressful day and it was such a lovely evening, we thought going out might be a fun way to end the day. Dear husband got out the wagon and off we went to roam the neighbourhood. I almost cried when I saw darling daughter sitting in the wagon in her butterfly costume. She has grown so much. Last year at this time, she wasn't mobile at all. In fact, she couldn't even roll over. She'd lie on the floor and kick her legs. Now she is toddling and babbling. It is amazing how many changes have occurred in the last 365 days.

We were out for about 45 minutes. Actually, I think dear husband had the most fun. At one point I had to put my foot down and insist we go home. I believe the reason he had so much fun is he is the main beneficiary of darling daughter's candy haul.

So Halloween is over for another year. We are picking through the leftover Halloween candy and I've got to take down the decorations. I know next year we'll be going trick and treating again. And I'll likely shed some tears because darling daughter will be in a bigger costume and will likely be walking house to house, instead of being carried by dear husband.