Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Halloween
A friend and I were discussing how commercial this day has become. Just like at Christmas, there are blow up figures in yards and Halloween orange lights strung over trees and bushes, and front doors with witches and skeletons. Last week my friend in assisted living was taken on a car ride to see all the Halloween decorations in the neighborhood. So the discussion turned to how much simpler things were when our kids were growing up.
Even thirty-some years ago the commercial push towards Halloween started before Labor Day. But I don’t remember our street becoming a showpiece for the occasion. Maybe it was just that Drayton Avenue people were too busy raking leaves to put up yard decorations. That’s my story anyway.
There was the required costume day at school for the littlest ones. I have a video of a parade of little Kindergartners proudly showing off their duds. Ted is in the video and he is dressed like Batman, who seemed to have been his favorite character every year. He insisted on wearing his costume after Halloween was over. Once we were in the grocery store and he was getting too far ahead of me. I called him by name to come back. He whirled around, glared at me, and loudly proclaimed, “I’m Batman!!!”. This was the same year that Halloween night was really cold and I wouldn’t let him go trick or treating without a jacket. Everyone knows that Batman does not wear a jacket and it was rough having a mom who didn’t abide by Batman rules.
I have a Jackie story too. When she was three or so, her grandmother Virginia made her the cutest strawberry costume complete with a little green felt hat that looked like a stem. She and I couldn’t wait for Jackie to try it on. Jackie was not impressed at all and cried as she was refusing to wear the big red strawberry. We eventually prevailed but that was one unhappy little piece of fruit. Later in life, when she could choose, she decided to be the nurse from hell that included a blood-stained uniform and dead person make-up. I tried not to take it personally.
I remember wearing costumes to work back in the day. One year I thought I was extremely clever. I wore a slip over my clothes with the words “ego”, “id”, and “superego” pasted all over the slip. I worked in Psychiatry and was sure that my co-workers would recognize a “Freudian slip”. They didn’t and I had to explain my costume all day long. Finally, one of the sickest patients recognized it and got a brief laugh out of it.
And there was candy. All kinds of goodies in bags brought home by successful Trick or Treaters. I also really enjoyed passing out candy and commenting on the costumes. It seemed that little kids and teenagers both came to the door looking excited to be rewarded for their efforts.
For the last few years we have lived in locations where few young families live. In Florida we were in a gated community that was not friendly to trick or treaters. Now we live in an apartment building where there are no children except grandchildren who come to visit and use the pool in the Summer. So, Halloween is very quiet around here. We don’t buy any candy knowing that we would be the only ones eating it, and knowing that is the last thing we need to be doing. The closest I get to kids in costumes is to get pictures of Cameron and Xander trying on theirs. It’s come full circle – now Jackie is the one who can make awesome costumes for the boys. And they really like theirs!