Halloween

I have to get this written before I forget. Since I’ve moved to Mass I’ve enjoyed Halloween every year except one I think, at Cece and Aarons. They live in suburbia on a horseshoe full of family homes. On the front yard amongst their decorations, they set up a fire pit and grill up some ribs invite over a few folks and plop out the tailgating chairs. We have fun settling in for an evening of reviewing the costumes around the warm fire while chowing down on ribs and cornbread, eating way too much candy and trying to avoid the smoke from the fire.

This year was a little different as, 1) it was Sunday and not a week day, and 2) their son is able to take in Halloween – he’s just shy of two years. They had opened up the festivities to everyone including a ton of kids from day care and there was a mob of families over enjoying the spread and kids running around playing. Myself included. On a sidenote, Cam and I invented a game where we’re riding around on the little cars he has (I found one I could fit in if I rode it backwards). We’d be riding around and one of us would yell “to the wall”. It was so cute when he first started doing it. We’d race to the wall and come up to it and with our hands pretend we were typing sci-fi style on it. He started repeating me with my “boo do boop, boo do boop” quasi digital impression of sound effects. Did I mention how cute it was? It was like we had our own secret language.  (Picture added later - we were taking a breather and discussing something serious apparently).

I don’t know how it happened but in the shuffle, as we headed out as a group to start the trick or treating after filling up on ribs, I ended up with Cameron. It was exciting and hand in hand we started walking up to the first house. I was coaching him to say trick or treat when we get to the door. And this is the part I love, I stopped looking at Halloween the way I’ve seen it for years in my desensitized way and was transported back to the innocence of first seeing this strange tradition. It makes no sense and is frickin’ scary really if you stop and look at it.

The safety of playing in your own front yard is replaced by entering into someone else’s territory. As Cam and I were walking down the sidewalk to the front door, the older kids running around collecting their goodies and the parents chatting away at the road all melted away. It was just Cam and I and as I looked down I see him walking slowly, cautiously, not sure what’s going on, holding on tightly to the candy bucket in one hand and my hand in the other. Trying to make sense of the strange scare crow stuffed with leaves and covered in cobwebs we were approaching. His eyes are big and he mumbles “twick or tweet” quietly, repeating after me, while staring at the decorations. We get up to the porch and there’s a strange man dressed strangely with a black cape. Not so sure. But there are other kids and the man crouches down and he has a huge bowl of candy – huge bowl. And he offers Cam the bowl for him to choose a piece. And all the scariness is a little less – free candy! How awesome is that. You can almost see the gears going in the little brain trying to make sense of it all – of the scariness and the strangeness of it all and the other kids laughing and the adults all smiling and being supportive. He relaxes realizing this all ok and picks a piece laughy taffy and is back to his usual self. He turns, still standing on the crowded porch of kids and adults and smiles to no one in particular and waves his first piece of candy. Animated he wants to open it immediately. (Picture added later - look at that grin!  And if you look closely there's the laughy taffy in the left mittened hand)


I suggest we go show mom who is waiting back at the road and he repeats, “show mom” and adds “wooow”. It was so cute. Such a transformation. And this was only the first of many that night. The second one I witness a moment later as we are walking back towards mom. There’s young kids and old running around and parents everywhere. And suddenly he stops walking and I look down to see what’s wrong and he’s transfixed in this one spot staring over to our left. I turn and see two older kids standing to the side talking, waiting for their friends (about 10 years old). One is dressed up as a transformer and has a mask on. You can’t see anything – no eyes, nothing. And Cam is staring intently. He’s scared. I was thinking about this afterwards and there were much scarier costumes – hers was a nice pattern with happy colors, not too ominous. But I think it was the mask. Take away the face, and you can’t read the person – there is no reassurance. Such a simple thing. I explain it’s just a girl and not to worry, but he was just staring. So I pick up my cuddly little pumpkin and we walk back to mom and all is forgotten. And soon dad has taken over chaperoning the door to door visits and I get to have some snuggle time with my little larvae. Who I’ll add just watched everything without a sense of fear of the situation. I’m curious to see what next year will be like for Mags.

I was so happy I had the opportunity to share in this first trick or treating experience with my little godson. To see Halloween with those fresh eyes and to be there for him. I look forward to what his little life brings forth next!