Halloween is quickly approaching. I love Halloween, I dress up every year at work and then I usually go to at least one Halloween party so I like coming up with different costumes all the time. Now that Hailey is older there isn’t the excitement of letting loose and running from house to house knocking on doors, she still dresses up but now she is usually going somewhere with friends.
It’s funny how much all the holiday’s change when you get divorced, even Halloween. When I was married the subdivision we lived in was full of kids so as soon as dinner was over it seemed like the entire neighborhood was out walking around. The father’s usually stayed home and handed out candy, unless it was baby’s first Halloween or they had too many little ones for one parent to chase after in the dark.
It was such a wonderful time. We mothers all had our mugs of coffee or tea, some of us might have had wine, we got to visit, laugh at our kids and reminisce about years past.
“Remember last year you had to pull the twins in the wagon because they weren’t steady enough on their feet but look at them go now!”
“Remember the year Hailey was a flower in a flower pot and couldn’t get up and down the steps so you had to carry her to each house?”
It was truly a time to stop and realize how quickly all of our kids were growing. Our subdivision connected to a street of older homes that had mostly elderly couples living in them. That was the kids favorite part, the sweet older ladies would always make such a fuss over their costumes, the kids were proud as peacocks. Each house was decked out for the occasions, some even played spooky music, and the kids loved it.
I had a bond with those people and all of those children. Then I got divorced. Hailey and I moved from our lovely little neighborhood into an apartment complex. There wasn’t a group of children going door to door, it was just Hailey and I, we didn’t know our neighbors. A lot of the fun went out of Halloween after the divorce.
When I bought this house I was excited for Halloween, I couldn’t wait to see all the little ones. Sadly, I’m one of the few houses that decorate every year. Most of the schools and churches do trunk or treats so very few kids go door to door anymore. In the three years I’ve lived here I’ve never gone through more than a bag of candy. It’s very sad. It’s time to get to know our neighbors again, and let the kids be excited running for house to house, exclaiming over their treats. I miss what used to be.