In the blink of an eye, the first nine weeks of school is over; our immediate family birthdays are done; and now we are faced with the much anticipated tradition of Halloween.
Since I grew up in the country, trick-or-treating at my home meant eating supper and heading out in the dark to the nearby country neighbors and a trip into town with one parent driving while the other one stayed home to cover any trick-or-treaters that stopped by.
We were only allowed to trick-or-treat through sixth grade so I didn’t get to go on many Halloween adventures with my brothers who are three and six years older than me.
I don’t remember putting too much thought into costumes. It seems like we made do with whatever we had around the house. I remember one brother getting to buy a Star Wars mask which I wore later. One year, the weather turned nasty and we were in the midst of a down right blizzard.
We stayed home and played Bingo in the basement by candlelight with the on-hand candy for prizes. It was one of the best Halloweens ever.
As a sixth grader, I believe I was Garfield. The plastic costume split in two as I went from the cold night air to the warm car. Remember those hard masks with the little slits for the eyes, nose and mouth? My glasses always fogged over when I wore those things. But the best part of my last Halloween was stopping at my neighbor Ingeborg’s home. She had a special gift for me…a wall hanging bearing my name made on the very loom she brought over from Norway. It’s a treasure I will always enjoy.
Fast forward to 2006 when Shawn just turned one. I dressed him up for the first time as a lion and took him around the block.
He wasn’t a fan of costumes for the first couple years and would cry big crocodile tears until we got going. He was such an adorable trick-or-treater as his little voice said, “trick or treat” and “thank you” it made the short-lived struggle worthwhile. All he needed was a roll of Smarties in his chubby little hands and all was right with the world. One year, he grew so fast that the engineer costume we set aside seemed to have shrunk. The bottom of his bibs were above his ankles by several inches.
Since living in Bowman, we’ve always made Halloween a family night. Scott and I stay on the curb while our son rings the doorbell. For four years in a row, Shawn was either Mario or Luigi.
I told Scott since he’s always wearing the same costume, we should dress up too. In 2012, we were Mario, Luigi and Peach. It was super fun to dress up and walk around the neighborhood. We had so much fun as a family!
I think some households were disappointed that Scott and I didn’t dress up every year after that, but living in North Dakota the weather doesn’t always cooperate to leisurely walk the neighborhood. Instead, we’ve stayed in a nice warm vehicle or bundled up big time.
Last year we decided to go all in again and be superheroes. The girl costumes are always skimpy and never warm, so I decided to just order a guy’s costume that allowed me to wear jeans and a sweatshirt underneath. Guess what? It was the warmest Halloween I’ve ever experienced in North Dakota as our team of Captain America, Green Lantern and Spiderman roamed the streets.
This year, we’ll be at it again, but I won’t spoil the surprise as to what the Sola household will be. I am very hesitant about my girly costume this year…so much so I ordered a backup boy one just in case I lose my nerve or if it’s just too cold outside.
I have a feeling even when my son doesn’t want to go trick-or-treating with his parents anymore, Scott and I will still dress up to hand out candy.
The only thing I do not like about Halloween is opening up the door to see someone bigger than me in a full costume. (That’s why nine times out of 10, Scott answers the door.) Oh well. At least they are trick-or-treating and not causing mayhem, right?
Happy Halloween everyone!
