Halloween

I love Halloween.

Love it! This is ironic for someone who doesn’t like horror movies. But I otherwise love it. The costumes, the fun decorations, the trick-or-treaters, the abundance of Halloween candy until Easter.

Once again I am approaching Halloween with a certain amount of bittersweet melancholy. My son is past the Halloween stage of costumes and trick-or-treats.

No more excited anticipation to skip dinner and hit the neighborhood with a pack of boys and a pillowcase all in the name of massive candy acquisition.

No more piles of candy sorted by variety on my living room floor.

No more Ziploc bags full of butterfingers and kit-kats stored in my freezer for impromptu movie candy.

In the big picture the absence of candy is probably a good thing. I am not exactly known for my spectacular will power when it comes to treats (or pretty much anything else, but I digress).

However, I still hold fast to a few key Halloween traditions.

Pumpkin carving…a must have; although trips to the pumpkin patch have been replaced with grocery store pumpkins. And the half a dozen elaborate designs have now been relegated to a couple of simple jack-o-lanterns. Pumpkin carving is not easy on the hands of a chronic tye-dyer.

Pumpkin Seeds. Technically my spousal unit takes care of the cleaning and the roasting of said seeds. He roasts them a golden brown with tons of butter and garlic salt; a decadent yummy treat that has been known to make me sicker than a dog if eaten to excess. (Remember that will power statement from above). Yeah. I suck at willpower.

Full size candy bars. Yup. I am a “good house” and dole out full size candy bars. Parents hate me. Kids revere me.  Nothing says sugary excess like a basket full of full size candy bars. I only get about 40 kids a year…latecomers get a fun size treat. Better show up early to get the good stuff!

Perhaps I should pinch a full size Butterfinger for my own consumption. Yeah. Good plan. Definitely!