Prologue: Some friends of ours invited Aaron and I to an adult Halloween costume party. Now, I like to think of myself as a fun, semi-outgoing person, but I immediately felt anxiety about this event. Aaron and I are not Halloween people. We don't hang cobwebs and creepy spiders from our front porch, we don't enjoy spooking ourselves with haunted houses (I still have nightmares from the scariest movie I've ever watched--Jurassic Park), and just don't like the dark vibe of the holiday in general. Added to that, the thought of dressing up in a goofy costume goes against my firm personal rule about avoiding embarrassing situations at all costs. Misgivings aside, I really didn't want to disappoint our friends and I knew we'd take some heat if we didn't attend. And so we stewed about it and debated about it...what should have been a really fun thing became something that we agonized over: torn between the primal instinct to avoid foolish situations and the desire to reciprocate friendship. We dragged our feet long enough that the decision to skip the party was made by default. Sitting alone in front of the tv, while a killer party was raging next door, I realized that we'd had the perfect costumes all along and never even knew it! We could come as we are, dressed in our sweat pants and hoodies, and go as anti-socials! It'd fit us perfectly! This anecdote has absolutely nothing to do with tonight's trick-or-treating bonanza, but I thought it would provide insight into our attitude towards Halloween...no thank-you on the creepy/tacky decorations and foolish costumes, yes please on the candy!
The boys got warmed up for trick or treating at Nana Grover's ward party, our ward party, and Nana Grover's neighborhood trunk or treat. By the time the main event rolled around, we'd already amassed an impressive amount of candy and even the little guys were getting the hang of trick or treating.
Halloween may not be my most favorite holiday, but I did love watching the magic and wonderment as the boys raced from house to house, like slipping down the rabbit hole, where for one day you CAN dress crazy, eat whatever you want, and stay out late.
No comments:
Post a Comment