Haunting Thoughts About Halloween

Confession: I am not a fan of Halloween. There, I said it! Now before you switch over to Instagram or close your laptop, hear me out! Just because I don't love the holiday doesn't mean I don't celebrate it. It just means I have a different opinion of the whole concept of decorating the yard with zombies and offering random children all the sugary treats they can carry in their pillowcases--or I should say, specially designed bags with their names embroidered on them. (Pillowcases are old school.)

Where am I going with all this? (It exhausts me even writing it out...) Oh right, Halloween tends to be quite an afterthought around here. My oldest daughter, who pretty much rules the roost, is always quick to remind me that it's time to think about costumes or make caramel apples and sugar cookies. She vigilantly points out that our house is lacking the right amount of that stringy spiderweb mess and that we need to get more ASAP. I'm not sure what I would do without her. Whether it's good that I have pretty much followed all of her advice or not, I don't know!

Now let's toss into the mix our favorite aspect of 2020 (next to politics, of course)--Covid! Talk about a strange thing to navigate! We all want to see our children happy, so the idea of trick-or-treating being canceled can be galling to us moms who want to fulfill all our children's superhero and princess dreams. And there are plenty of people who want to challenge that, but talk about wrath you don't want to mess with! Yes, I realize the many rules and regulations in place are for our own health and safety, but for heaven's sake, don't take those Reese's cups away from me!

To me, that's one of the best parts about being a mom--we can all have different opinions and ideas and traditions, and somehow it all works out. Miraculously, our children end up even better than we could have imagined. (Never mind that year I made my 3-year-old son dress up like the Joker. He has begged me multiple times to not be the Joker again. Mom fail for sure, but the pics were worth it!)

It's a strange time, which makes for a strange holiday. So let's just jump in and love every sugary second it has to offer! It gives our children a chance to be children a little bit longer. Seeing their joy and excitement makes it all worth it. So bring on the witches and ghouls, the ninjas and the Disney princesses. Despite my lack of affection for Halloween, I'm all for celebrating a day that's about enjoying life.