Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Now that I am an adult I couldn’t care less about dressing up or gorging on candy. But I still love all the witch stuff and Halloween movies. In October I always want to watch episodes of Charmed and my favorite witch movies like Practical Magic, and of course the Harry Potter films (the last couple anyhow!). Now I also enjoy seeing the kids dressed up. This year we spent the holiday with friends and their children. It was a blast:
When I was a child I loved decorating the house for Halloween even though we’d only have a handful of trick or treaters (I lived on a very small street where we were the only children for most of my childhood). Instead of the usual filling up a pillowcase with candy like my friends did in the big development neighborhoods nearby, I would spend the evening visiting my fifteen or so neighbors and chatting with each for 15 to 20 minutes at their home. I used to love the fires in the fireplaces and spending quality time with these diverse and interesting people who I had known my whole life. Even today, years later, I feel a bit sentimental about the whole thing. During this time of year, I always feel a little bit sad that I can’t visit with my beloved neighbors from Manning Lane: Natalie, Madeline, and Margaret, who have all passed away (in their upper 90s). (It even makes me sad that my children won’t get to know them. Ah, I am so pregnant and extra-sentimental!) I feel lucky to have such warm childhood Halloween memories.
For me this holiday is still about good friends and that extra element of magic that’s missing from every other day…
Okay, I also have a thing for candy corn.