Halloween Hauntings

Ya know, some years, ya just don’t quite have it all together 😆

Some years you don’t even think about Halloween until your kid’s bus driver gets off the bus dressed as a Crayola Crayon and you think, “Hm… why is she dressed as a …. Faaacckkkk!!!  He was supposed to wear a costume today.”

Then, to squash your mom guilt you get festive and dye their breakfast orange the next morning but then immediately go down a rabbit hole about your decision to make amends for your parental shortcomings by feeding your kids red dye #40, while simultaneously justifying it because hey, it’s the holiday of junk food and artificial dyes anyway!!

Some years, you piece together their trick or treating outfits from an old box of random stuff from years past and that’s honestly, the best you’ve got. But they seem to love it anyway.

Some years, your kid’s costume is lame, and all your pictures come out blurry, capturing more dystonia than smiles, and your grief over inaccessible driveways and the stolen glances or outright stares, gets the best of you as you trick or treat. You forget to be thankful for this light-hearted tradition, still alive and well, despite our complicated world. 

And, in spite of all your relative foibles, your kid smiles as you adorn them with mardi gras beads, sweet shades, and a pair of rainbow raver ears.  

And they squeal with delight at each house that IS accessible, and they are so enthralled with the joy of the evening that their energy helps pull yours out of the uber self-critical hole it was stuck in.  

Some years you go home with your plastic grocery bags full of candy (because having those little orange pumpkin buckets is a level of parenting you will likely never reach) and get on social media and feel genuinely happy for all those amazing parents who pulled off super bad-ass wheelchair costumes and elaborate themes this year.  

And, although it wasn’t your year for greatness, you give yourself some love and grace, knowing you did your best with what you had, that your kids had tons of fun anyway, and that there’s always next year to reach for the stars.