Boo! My Thoughts on Halloween

I don't like Halloween.  At all.  I love fall:  pumpkins, colored leaves, cooler weather, hoodies, harvest.  I do not, however, like Halloween.  I don't even think I really liked it as a kid.  (My sister and brother accuse me of having forgotten most of our childhood.  Maybe I forgot the years I liked trick-or-treating.)

It's not a religious thing like a lot of people might assume.  I just think it's dumb.  I don't understand dressing up and begging for candy from people you don't know.  I just don't get why that's fun.  Don't even get me started on celebrating a holiday that glorifies bats.  

I haven't really had to deal with Halloween much as an adult.  When I lived in apartments, it was easy to just ignore it.  The first year that I was in my house, I thought it would be really fun to have trick-or-treaters.  I bought a TON of candy.  I wanted to talk to the kids and ask about their costumes.  I wanted them to say trick-or-treat.  Very few kids showed up.  The ones that did were not chatty.  And what's with the parents having a bag?  Seriously?   

Last year was my second Halloween in my house.  I went out to dinner and a movie with a friend.  We saw Pitch Perfect and loved it.  There was almost no one in the theater.  It was great!  That's my idea of a fun holiday.

I've been saying since last year that I'm not going to take Sara trick-or-treating.  It doesn't sound like fun to me at all.  And, she doesn't know what it is so she won't know what she's missing.  Growing up, we lived in a  small town and only went to houses of people we knew.  My dad drove us around.  To do that with Sara would take hours.  Our friends are so spread out.  And, it would involve getting in and out of the car seat repeatedly.  (Not any one's idea of a good time.)   I don't know anyone in my neighborhood and the thought of getting food from strangers just makes me really nervous.

Those were my concerns before I knew Sara.  Now I know for a fact that I will not take her trick-or-treating this year.  

Sara is a mooch.  She will be best friends with anyone who has food.  It doesn't matter if she knows them or not.  She cuddles up next to them and is eating their food in no time.  Obviously, this is a major problem and cannot continue.  It's something I am working on constantly.

Sara is also very loving to everyone she meets.  She doesn't know what a stranger is and would go with anyone she met.  This is also a major problem and something I am trying to address.

Do you see why I think trick-or-treating is a bad idea?  Let's ring a door bell and ask a perfect stranger for food!  I can see it now--she will be sitting on someone's couch with their candy bowl in her lap.  And I'll get slapped and bitten when I try to get her to leave.  This is a scene I can live without!  

Maybe next year we'll be ready for trick-or-treating.  This year, she can wear her costume to her new school.  (Yay for a new school!)  On Sunday we are going to a Halloween party at Gigi's Playhouse where she can trick-or-treat and wear her costume.  On Thursday night, we will go out to eat and to the movies.  Maybe I'll even let her wear her costume.