Halloween has always been my favorite holiday.

when my kids were little, i decorated for the occasion through out the house.... we always made our own costumes, had a plastic pumpkin to fit over our porch light which illuminated our entrance with a spooky orange glow, stuffed a dummy scarecrow out of my husband's old clothes, which sat on the front porch, just waiting to grab little visitors, had orange twinkle lights around the windows, and made up scary stories to tell each other over dinner. sometimes the kids and i would make a tent by draping sheets over the living room furniture, sit under it, have a "spooky" snack and tell ghost stories... and i would say..."did you hear that noise? something is out there" meaning outside of our tent... and we'd all cuddle in closer together in fear. god that was SUCH fun. i LOVED that feeling. for the whole month of October, we all enjoyed that spookiness in the air of ghosts and goblins, watching Halloween specials on TV, and such. every year we would watch our favorite movies "Earnest Scared Stupid," "Hocus Pocus," and the Halloween cartoons. we even went on late night walks through the neighborhood with flashlights, slithering about like the Pink Panther did, looking for monsters.

THE THRILL OF THE SCARE!

THE FEELING WE WERE BEING FOLLOWED!

THE FEAR SOMETHING WOULD JUMP OUT TO GET US!

what a delight it was. i don't know who enjoyed it more,

the kidlets or me. today, i don't put up decorations or do any of those fun things, cuz my kids are grown and i have lost the spirit.... i don't seem to have the energy to invest in all that, anymore. and i am sad about it. where did my passion for the season go? as i look back over the years, the kids one by one out grew the desire to trick or treat, and i out grew mine to celebrate the holiday. i still long for those days.... somehow it meant so much more back then... when my kids were little.
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