It's the day after Halloween and, unlike the majority of the population out there, I don't have anything spectacular to show for how I celebrated. I didn't go to a Halloween party, I didn't make an amazing costume, or even dress up at all for that matter, nor did I stay home all night handing out treats and admiring all of the cute kid costumes. In fact, besides my very first pumpkin carving, I really didn't celebrate Halloween at all this year.
And while it seemed that everyone in the social media world had some opinion on how they felt about Halloween, which ranged from one extreme to the other, I feel like I'm hanging somewhere in the middle. I don't dislike Halloween. I like it, I do, but I find that with each year that passes, it seems harder and harder to do something for it. I mean, as much as I like dressing up, unless there's somewhere that I can go to display the work that goes into a costume, I really couldn't be bothered with it. And even though sometimes I complain about all the left over treats that people bring in to work the next day, I'm usually the first one to pick out my favourite bars or candy out of the pile and sit at my desk just like a child while I eat them.
I did really enjoy yesterday, though, when I was on my way home from work. I was a little later getting off in the evening, and as I was driving I quickly realized it was the perfect time to see all the kiddies (and let's not forget the adults, because I saw those too) in their costumes going door to door. I think this was the first time I saw trick-or-treater's from that kind of view, where I was able to see them scattered all over the roads, and not just from when I would open my house door and see a few of them staring up at with me their bags held high. I swear I could have stayed in my car for hours just watching them and their excitement. Creepy? Maybe!
At one point when I was stopped at a red light, I turned my head and noticed a father out walking around with his younger daughter, and he seemed just as excited as she did. Not only did I think this was the sweetest thing I had seen in such a long time, but it automatically triggered so many memories of years ago when my dad would take me trick-or-treating. I'm not really sure why my dad got stuck with that job each year while my mom stayed home, but it's nice to look back now and have that memory of just something my dad and I did together. You know, like it was just ours. I remember every single year my dad would drive me from house to house. We didn't have much choice but to drive, because where I grew up, the houses are so spread out that it would have taken me forever to walk just to fill up a little bag. But my dad knew exactly which houses to take me to. You know, the ones that were guaranteed to give out the best treats. And now that I think about it, having that time with my dad was probably just another reason to add to the list of why I loved Halloween so much as a kid.
So, I hope you all enjoyed yesterday, whether you have great stories to share of the amazing Halloween party you went to, the fun night you had with your kids as they collected their candy supply for the year, or even if you just had some great memories of Halloween to think back to when you were a kid, like myself.