In Honor of Halloween Past

It's six thirty and you cannot wait to get out the door. You've been in your costume since noon and no matter how hot, sweaty, or itchy you are you refuse to take it off! Your mother pleas with you, but there is no way that costume is coming off until it is bath time later...and maybe not even then.

Finally your parents finish cleaning the dinner dishes and you wait by the front door for them to get their cameras, stroller, and everything else (that is seemingly unimportant to you) ready to go. You have been waiting since last Halloween for this Halloween and it is finally here. Your pillow case turned candy bag is clasped tightly in your small fist, and you jump up and down and scream with excitement as you see your parents making their way to the door.

Whoosh! The door is open and you're off like a horse at the races, sprinting to meet all of your neighborhood friends at the end of the driveway. But before you can run off to your next door neighbors house your mother pulls out her camera... You (unenthusiastically) smile your best fake smile at the camera so that she will stop taking your picture. After fifteen minutes of posing and taking in all of the adults "oh-ing" and "awh-ing" (yes you know you're cute) you are finally released from their capture and thank God because if you had to wait for one more minute you might have exploded!

By now you're a pro at this, you know what houses to make sure you smile extra big at and throw in a twirl in your costume to get that extra piece of candy. You also know which houses are notoriously known around the neighborhood for being the "fruit and veggie" houses, and you conveniently tell your parents you are too scared to go to their front door (even though there are no decorations at all) so that you can keep moving towards your end goal... the lady at the end of the road that gives out the FULL-SIZED candy bars.

It is nearly eight thirty and you have hit all the houses (at least the ones that matter) in your neighborhood. You have lost your prized glitter tiara, the little boy two houses down has lost his army goggles, and the girl from one neighborhood over lost one of her shoes. Two other neighborhood kids are crying, your parents are bickering, and you are exhausted. You slowly walk back through your front door and plop yourself at the kitchen table, spilling your haul into one big pile. You shift through the candy, separating the chocolate from the DumDums while your mother shakes her head and picks up certain pieces of candy, throwing them away because they could be "dangerous." As long as it isn't a Reese's Cup you really don't care.

You are allowed to eat three pieces of candy and have to save the rest for another day. Your mother finally coaxes you out of your costume, throws you into the bath tub, and you are scrubbed clean. Later that night as you lay in bed you swear you can hear your parents riffling through your candy but when you ask them the next day they will claim innocence. You slowly drift to sleep feeling the pride and accomplishment that only a child with a full bag of candy can feel on Halloween, and dream about your costume for next year.