Fun Was Had By All - Happy Halloween

I love Halloween...I've always loved Halloween. I'm sure it has something to do with all the candy. I loved dressing up, getting my pumpkin shaped carrier and heading out for a night of Trick or Treating. I think its a great night and I don't really understand the problem that some people have with it. I think it becomes whatever you make it...I have a friend who moved from Kirkland over to the Eastern side of the mountains a few years ago and she was always a big Halloween celebrator. Even though her husband was on staff at a church and they always had the obligatory "Harvest Party", my friend would decorate her house - not really scary or anything - just the normal pumpkins, cobwebs, etc. She let her kids go Trick or Treating, just the normal stuff.

When she moved to a smaller town, Fall came and she started her normal decorating, etc. Her husband is now the pastor of a church...anyway, some of her friends came to her and said..."We don't really celebrate Halloween here, we turn our porch lights off and don't participate." I loved my friends response....she very kindly said, "I've always thought, what other night of the year are my neighbors knocking on my door? And if that's the case, why wouldn't I let them in?"

Of course I'm paraphrasing and retelling the story how I remember it, but I thought of that last night as we were out Trick or Treating...Will was really into it and we got pretty far into the neighborhood. But there were big groups of kids with parents all out walking around knocking on each other's doors. We knocked on a few doors, and were surprised by which neighbors live in which house...Will ran into friends from kindergarten and I was able to meet their parents or say Hi to those I already know. Some invited us to join them in their quest for candy. I loved it.

I especially loved Will's enthusiasm and how he would greet his friends and chat with them about how much candy he had collected. I loved how he would ask at houses if he could get an extra piece of candy for his sister who was in her stroller not feeling well, and he would actually give the extra to her. I loved how he wasn't scared of any of the skeletons or ghosts or homeowners who answered their door in masks - he knew it was all pretend...but, mostly, I loved the feeling of community - it was a beautiful night and fun was had by all....