Halloween isn't what it used to be!

What ever happened to the time when you would trick or treat until the homeowners actually turned off their lights and you had to go home? Or when you had to stop at home to empty your plastic pumpkin so you could go trick or treat some more? Or when you would change your costume half way through the evening and trick or treat at the same homes again(well, maybe I was the only one to do that)? The point is, that Halloween has changed and I don't like it as much.

Maybe it is just my kids, but after an hour, they are done. I keep seeing all these house that they haven't gone to and think, I bet they have good candy! Unlike my pushing of my kids into sports(another day for that story), I decide that candy isn't worth it and I take the kids home. Maybe I need to do what many of my neighbors do. They drive their kids around the neighborhood in golf carts! The dads are in the front with some good tunes blaring and beers in their hands as they pull up to each house and the kids in back get off and run to the door.

Maybe it is just the neighborhood we live in, but I must have seen 10 golf carts out on Saturday night. Each cart had it's own flare. One had big oversized tires, one had had a rain/wind protector around it, one was all decorated in team colors, but it was dark and I couldn't make out the team logo. One actually had lights, so you could see it coming in the dark. I saw a not-so-sophisticated vehicle too, but it wasn't a golf cart; it was a lawn tractor that had a trailer attached. On the trailer the dad had put folding chairs and he was pulling about 6 dads and kids. The best site I saw all night though was a pick-up truck pulling a long trailer with at least 10 parents sitting on it. What were they doing? They were throwing candy to the kids! I said next year, we should just have a neighborhood parade for Halloween and the kids sit on the side of the street and all the home owners throw candy to the kids! Talk about no effort for the kids! The one part of that parade vehicle that did make me really happy was seeing a friend, who is recovering from cancer, get to ride in the cab and and enjoy the festivities with his family and friends.

Don't get me wrong, I have no issues with anyone celebrating the way they want for Halloween. For me, it is just really hard to get used to that. In my opinion, the fun is running from one house to the next, trying to beat your buddy to the door bell. It is the one night of the year that it is ok to run through the neighbor's yard and not have to use the sidewalk. It is that one night when you ring the doorbell and you aren't prepared to give your speech about how if they help with your magazine drive, it will help you get a better education. All you have to do is say "trick or treat," and you get free candy.

I will admit that I have fun on Halloween. I am glad that I have a couple of kids that are young enough for me to go out with them. Sure I like to steal their Reese's Peanut Butter cups when they aren't looking, but more importantly for me, it love to see their expressions and joy in their face when they get something they really like or when at the end of the night, they want you to hold their candy bag in one hand and they want to hold your other hand as you stroll back home. Life is good! Plus, another year without a razor blade, needle or other foreign object in the loot! 39 years and counting!