About Me, Just T: Halloween Past

I don't remember when it came up, or even how, but the topic of Halloween's in the past did come up. And the year that my mother dressed up as the "psycho nurse" with her "skull saw" was brought up. I knew I had a picture of it, and I found it!! That would be my mother, in all her Halloween glory! Just one of many of her Halloween costumes, she tried to think up new ones every year.

Sadly, after many years of scary innocent children together, this year I think we will be apart. But at least we can see who has the most trick-or-treaters and decide what we want to do next year together!

My mom has always been into Halloween, as far back as I can remember. When we were younger, dad and the dog always took us girls trick or treating, and mom would stay home to scare and hand out candy. As I got older, and stopped trick or treating, I became mommy's lil scare helper. I usually played "safety". Thinking up different themes to decorate the yard every year. My best friend Amanda even starting coming every year, and it became a tradition. Mom scared, Amanda and I would help scare, but mainly were in charge if dispersing the candy.

(Part of Mom, Toby, and part of Amanda.)

For a couple years we had the "pick a box". You had two boxes, with a hole in the top, and the trick or treater had to pick a box, and put their hand in to feel what was inside....one box had a bowl of candy, the other usually had oily spaghetti or peeled grapes....not pleasant, especially when you weren't expecting it, and it was dark and scary, hehe. Freaked alot of kids out! Most little children would run away and cry, and some were even too terrified to come up the driveway...with all the scary moaning and music pouring out of the speakers, and scarily lit and decorated yard, then there were the "live props" aka, Mom and Mike. Not knowing if they were stuffed or real, and lurking in the shadows. There were some kids I had to go and meet at the end of the driveway so they could have their candy.

I will never forget the year we took my car, parked it on the lawn, and surrounded it with yellow police tape...had a "body" hanging out the open car door, and my grandfathers rotating red firefighter light on top of the car. That was alot of fun.

Mike is bummed this year we won't be doing anything like that. Hopefully we will get alot of trick or treaters in our neighborhood, and next year we can coax my mom down, and her and Mike can scare the wits out of some kids! My mom only thinks she is gonna get a few kids at her place, so we will see. I know no matter what, Mike wants to do it big next year. This year will be spent handing out candy while watching scary Halloween movies.

One positive about living down south and trick or treating, versus trick or treating up north, when I have kids, I won't have to make their Halloween costumes extra big to fit their winter coats underneath, cuz it was so cold, hehe!! It always disfigured our "scary" costumes, when we looked all puffy, so we wouldn't freeze! :-)