Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween!

About a month ago, Emily and I were looking around at Super Target and we found a really cool Ariel costume for Halloween. We decided to wait (bad idea, for the second year in a row) to get the costume later, and wouldn't you know it, it was gone when we came back. Leslie ended up getting another Ariel costume which didn't fit really well (the legs were so tight - I guess to make it look like a mermaid - that it looked like Emily was trying to walk with both legs down one leg of a pair of pants), so we ended up taking that one back, and getting a Sleeping Beauty costume.

So, yesterday morning finally came, and after Leslie got her dressed in her Sleeping Beauty costume, she decided she'd much rather wear a white dress she'd had for a while, instead of the new one. So, off that one came, and on came the white dress. Emily packed her pink shoes in her backpack, "just in case the white ones make my feet hurt."

She had her Halloween party yesterday at school, and unfortunately I got there too late and just saw her leaving with Papa Vinny (with her pink shoes on - good thinking on her part!). She said she had lots of fun! You can see pictures from her school party below.

So, Trick-or-Treating time came last night, and at about 5:30 last night we got ready and headed down the street to meet at Gavin's house (a friend of Emily). They had invited a lot of the neighborhood kids over to eat pizza, hang out, and then go Trick-or-Treating together, so when we were all ready to go, we had about 15 or so kids.

For the past several years, trick-or-treating has consisted of strapping Emily into the car, driving across town to various friends' homes, loading up on candy, and heading back home - not exactly the fun filled walks I remember as a kid. I figured with all the "DEATH KNIVES IN CANDY!!!" or "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES, THE PUBLIC IS THE ENEMY!" or "WALKING ON SIDEWALKS CAN KILL YOU" headlines over the years during Halloween had transformed this once enjoyable family outing into an exercise in surveillance, complete with mace and cell phones ready to dial 911. I just thought this was the new 'norm.' I was happy to see I was wrong, because as we stepped out, every way you looked in the streets there were kids and families running from home to home, laughing, playing, falling, screaming, etc.

So, we got started. As the kids rushed up to the first home, Emily stayed back (big shocker). We both told her that she was welcome to stay with us, but she wouldn't be able to get any candy that way... I could tell she was fighting the fear internally, so after a moment I offered to go up with her. Before I could even finish asking her she had grabbed my hand and up we were going. The exchange went well, and just like last year, I couldn't get a "trick or treat!!" out of her, but she quickly thanked them with no reminder.

As the kids made it to more and more houses, she started relaxing, getting into the candy grabbing groove. One of us still had to go up to the door with her, but each time, we could back up a little more, letting her go in. I particularly enjoyed seeing all the kids rush up there scrambling to be first at the door. Emily would just hang back, let all the chaos ensue, then as the kids rushed off, she would walk up to the door. Every time, the people at the door would take just a liiiitle more time with her, and give her just a liiiiitle more candy... Nice - working the system already - now that's my girl right there :) It was especially funny with several homes, because after our group would make it to the home, as soon as we'd leave, the porch light would be out and doors locked. Apparently we cleaned out quite a few stashes of candy...

We had finally gotten into a pretty good pace, and then, on the corner, was a house almost completely dark. There were a few pumpkins at the front door which were lit, and a light over the porch glowed with an odd purple haze. At first I couldn't tell if this was a 'go away' house, but then I heard some faint screams from a recording near the front door, and realized this was a 'come if you dare' house... Just as I was putting all of this together, the kids were rushing towards the front door.

You know how when you're sitting at a restaurant table, and you move for one reason or another, and you knock your drink over, spilling over every single square inch of the table, as well as soaking everybody with you? You know that instant... just before it crashes on the table... where time seems to slow for an instant? Somewhere in your mind you can actually see yourself reaching out and grabbing that glass just in the nick of time, but by the time everything has processed, it's too late... Okay, so.. Here are about 15 kids, all under the age of five, running from door to door, without a care in the world. They are rushing up to this house, just like any other they've done before. I started putting together the events which were about to unfold, but by the time I could make sense of any of it... it was too late.

Emily, working the system as she had been doing so well, was in the least fortuitous position. The first bunch ran up, and in concert, hesitated for an instant as they heard the first scream from the door. It didn't phase them too much, because an instant later they were rapping on the door. For a short time, there was no answer, but then, just as they were probably figuring there was no one at home, the door swung open and behind it stood a man (who probably looked ten feet tall from their perspective) wearing a hockey mask, and screamed at them with his best scary scream he could let loose.

A collective shriek echoed through the neighborhood as 15 kids turned tail and bolted. And like a carefully laid out row of dominoes, all fell on one another, Emily being at the end - putting her at the BOTTOM of the pile. Candy flew into the air, looking a little like fireworks as the light of the moon hit them, and scattered across the yard, but the kids could care less at that point, as they continued to claw and scramble their way back to the parents.

The man immediately took off his mask and started apologizing, but there really wasn't time to talk to him, because by then the kids were half way back to their homes, still screeching in horror. We managed to round them all up, get the candy back in their buckets, and back on track with the more... friendly... homes :) On a loop back around, Emily noticed we were back across the street from that house, and all she did was stop, raise her arm deliberately, and point at the house.. then quickly ran off to the next house.

After that, we ran over to Mema Marge's where she and Chippa were waiting with a full basket of candy for Emily. We chatted for a while, then rushed back home for bed. Of course, we had to look at all the candy first, but then a well earned restful bedtime.

2 comments:

  1. It looks like you guys had a great time. I loved that after Em dumped out her candy she threw her pumpkin out of the way! haha

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  2. I know, I was so glad to have that on camera :)

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