Trick or Treat!

What a blessing that Halloween fell on Friday this year...and it was a 70-degree day! Interestingly, we don't get tons of trick-or-treaters here. I'm guessing maybe 50 darkened our doorstep. Most were little ones and as cute as they could be. My own urchins were cute, too. Robin was a classy witch and Ryan was Wolverine. Both were in store-bought costumes. (They're making those a WHOLE lot nicer than they used to!) And both picked out their own. We were willing to make costumes, but if the kids wanted what they picked, 'twas easier for us!

So how has the "holiday" changed since I was a kid? First of all, the word had an apostrophe in it (Hallowe'en), and when it appeared on a spelling test, the teacher marked it WRONG if the apostrophe wasn't there. Now, you can't find the word with an apostrophe anywhere! Secondly, store-bought costumes were so poor that we would have died rather than wear one. Our costumes were all put together at home with whatever we had. I can remember being a Chinese person one year (wearing the Chinese pajamas that Dad brought home from the Orient). Another year, I was a Japanese girl, wearing the kimono that was made for me when we lived in Japan. I don't remember others. (Hey...that was a long time ago!) Megan always had homemade costumes. People gave homemade things like popcorn balls and apples and, of course, candy. Then evil people started with product tampering, making it imperative that treats be store-bought and inspected before eaten. Also, my sister and I were allowed to go trick-or-treating without an adult escort when I was quite young. We would never dream of allowing that now! Too many perverts in the world!

School parties have changed, too. Ryan goes to a private preschool three half-days a week. They had a Halloween party with costumes (but no masks or weapons). First-grader Robin, however, had a "fall" party--no costumes at all. Gone are the days of the Halloween costume parade through the classrooms. Also gone are the days of providing yummy homemade treats for birthdays or school parties. (Remember when you were considered a bad mommy if you sent store-bought treats to school???) It's sad, really, that we have come to this...

Last night was Dad's Night at the Plainfield United Methodist Preschool. Grandpa Phil substituted for Nathan. (Meg took Robin to the library for their Halloween event, then shopping.) I was to meet Phil at the church to collect Ryan so Phil could go to choir practice after the Dad's event. When I got there, Ryan was in line to pet animals. Apparently, the preschool had a nature dude there with critters. Ryan got to pet a dog, a hedgehog, a 25-lb. python, some kind of orange frog/toad, and bearded dragon lizard. (Apparently Grandpa and Ryan also got to assist with holding the python for the demonstration.) They also carved pumpkins. I think Ryan was expected a movie because he misunderstood about a field trip, so he was disappointed when I showed up...but Grandpa had a good time!

I'm still trying to get used to the new blog protocols. Be patient with me!