Wednesday, November 01, 2006

R.I.P., Halloween 2006

Lily and Tucker gaze upon the grave of Halloween 2006.

It was hectic, it was crazy, it was much too expensive with those damned Disney costumes, but it was also fun to be out last night in the cool autumn air with all the other trick or treaters, watching Tucker understand after just the first house that this holiday was all about the candy, man. And Lily was so polite, remembering at every house not just to say "thank you," but wishing everyone "Happy Halloween!" too. And it was interesting to see how she was more aware this year of the bigger kids, how they wore scarier costumes, and were allowed to go out all by themselves.

And no, the Halloween Witch or the Halloween Fairy will not be making a stop at our door. Have you heard of her? She's the invention of plucky parents who don't want their chidren's teeth to rot from all their hard-won candy. How it works is, you let your kids keep just a few pieces of candy, then leave the rest of the bag on your front stoop overnight. In the morning, poof! The Halloween Witch has come and taken your Butterfingers and Smarties and all those lemon-flavored Tootsie Rolls, and in their place is....a new Tonka truck! Or, a Barbie doll! Or...a coloring book about healthy dental habits! Fun!

My thinking on the matter goes something along the lines of this: it's already enough to ask my little girl, who is oh-so-curious about the natural world, to maintain her belief in Santa Claus, and that he is keeping track of her naughty or nice behavior. Not to mention the whole concept of God and heaven and angels. Just tonight, I had to try explain to her what the Devil is, after she saw a cartoon illustration of a kid in a devil costume. (Lily: So, he's like the bad God?
Me: Uh....yeah. Kinda like that.)

So maybe my children will have a few more mercury-based fillings in their wee little heads, compared to their non-sugared peers. But maybe, just maybe, I can get them to believe in Santa, and all things magical and unseen, for just a little longer than average, too.

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