Oh, all right! I don't either. I do dress up though. In a witchy costume that I put together out of stuff I already have - black capes notwithstanding, oh and a wig. I also have a skull called Henry. I carry him to the door and introduce him to the kids. I say "have you seen Henry's body? He lost it the other night and he's so missing it." One year an endearing tyke of about nine said 'lady, you're freaking me out!' I loved that.
I know I'm going to get drummed out of therapy circles but I think 'safety' is highly overated. The amount of fussing about everyone being free from harm of any sort or free from even being perhaps saddened because someone said something - well that scares me! If kids didn't want to be scared why do they flock to movies about ghouls and zombies and vampires etc... Why did we love Grimm fairy tales with their very scary story lines. Makes being a step-ma something I tell ya!
This holiday was created so that chaos would have at least one day a year to rule. And I for one, welcome it. As if!
So BOO to you all - hope you meet all sorts of lovely scary types - kids in real costumes not ones bought off the rack and not overly body-guarded by their parents but freely roaming around kicking over outhouses and painting signs on the sides of cows.
5 comments:
Boo back to you with your lucky spooks and goblins visiting..we never have any..sadly.
You are something else, aren't you, Jan.
And I am so with you on the "safety" bit. Kids do need to be protected from physical dangers, but it is absurd to try to shield them from the facts of life. My kids are fascinated by 'death'- if they hear a new name, one of the first questions they ask is "is (s)he dead?". I'm happier that they speak of it with me, than they be shushed up at home, and make up fantastically ridiculous stories with their friends.
But a skull looking for a body would have driven me to tears too.
We had only a few tricker treaters so no dressing up to scare them. I think my everyday costume was enough to scare them until next year. LOL
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
I loved Halloween when my kids were little, but now it's sort of a non-event around here. Not too many little kids left in the neighborhood, so it's hard to get in the mood.
Great post, Jan--it really is a day for kids to be kids, isn't it? For all of us to play a little. I love you seeking henry's body from all your visitors! We had a neighbor who died just a few years back in his mid 90s, but he always made the kids do a 'trick' to get their candy--sing a song, or do a dance. My daughter doing the Macarena for him as a 2nd grader is a FABULOUS memory!
Post a Comment