October is and always has been my favorite month of the year. Not only do we finally get a reprieve from the heat and humidity, we are surrounded by a vast array of colors when the leaves turn to beautiful reds, golds and oranges.
When my youngest son was four years old, we were riding in my car one fall day when he asked, “Mommy, why does God make all the leaves ‘bootiful’ and blow ’em all away?” I was not confident that he understood my science book explanation.
My late husband and I got married in October of 1988. When our two sons were just kids, we both had full-time jobs, making mom-and-dad getaways difficult. So, if our anniversary fell on a weekday, we would rent a nice room with a hot tub at the Comfort Inn in Fenton. It truly felt like we were out of town. In addition to enjoying a wonderful dinner at Lucky’s Steakhouse next door, we would laugh about our romantic, panoramic view of the Halloween USA store located in the shopping center across the street.
Halloween was a very big deal at our house. My husband put up all the spooky decorations, which included the usual spiders, rats, cobwebs, ghosts, tombstones and bloody fake hands reaching up from a pile of fallen leaves. We even had a fog machine for special effect. We helped the kids carve pumpkins and pick out costumes. On Halloween, I walked the kids around the neighborhood for trick-or-treating, while my husband manned our front door on candy duty. Sometimes, he would dress up like an old man (complete with mask), sit in a chair by the front door and wait quietly for kids to approach the house. Once they got close, he would suddenly speak and scare the bejesus out of them – they didn’t know he was a person. Another year, he dressed like a woman. He put on a wig, took his beard off and shaved his legs. He created a plentiful fake bosom, wore a miniskirt, stockings and high heels. He was so pretty (ridiculous, really) that one of the male adults with trick-or-treaters asked for his phone number.
Our boys love Halloween, too. My oldest was the kid who had two costumes so he could canvass the neighborhood for goodies twice. He and his wife are expecting a baby boy in December. I guarantee he can’t wait to take his little one out trick-or-treating, and I’m sure he’ll be the cutest little pumpkin.
Many people get upset when Christmas stuff starts appearing in stores as early as September and October. Not me! The earlier the better, so I can get started on shopping for those perfect gifts. I usually spend the month of October buying things for myself because while browsing, I always find something I “gotta” have. The Christmas season is, of course, my very favorite time of year.
When people wish me “Happy Hallothanksmas,” I reply, “Heck, yeah! Bring it on!”
