Happy Halloween!

Well, trick-or-treating in our town, an October 30 event, had to be postponed last night because of the after-effects of the Nor'easter that hit New England on Saturday night. The kids are supposed to be coming for their candy tonight, but I'll believe that when I see it--because almost all of the schools in the area are closed today. We haven't gotten any more snow, but there are thousands of people all over the state who have been without power for at least a day now. Unfortunately, one of them is our second oldest son, who lives an hour from us. He was with us on Saturday afternoon watching the Notre Dame game, and when the snow started coming down in earnest, he decided to drive back to his apartment at half time, before the roads got too bad. He ended up having a harrowing trip home, going 15 miles per hour and watching cars skid off into ditches. It's too bad he didn't just stay over that night, not only because the roads were so treacherous, but because the high school where he teaches is closed today anyway. So he's heading back here this morning to get a hot shower, do some laundry (let me rephrase that: have his mommy do some laundry for him), and use our computer to do some work-related stuff. He says he's going to have to throw out everything in his fridge; luckily bachelor refrigerators aren't usually jam-packed with valuable food items.

It would be too bad if trick-or-treating had to be cancelled altogether. I know how much my kids always looked forward to it when they were little. Now that they're grown, though, I could take or leave the whole Halloween hoopla; I'm not into scary costumes (our kids' costumes were usually pretty tame) or scary movies--or scary anything, for that matter. Some people really like the rush they get from a good scare. Not me. Life can be frightening enough sometimes without creating more things to be afraid of! Having to drive on an icy road or board an airplane in any weather--AAAHHHHH! That's what I call terrifying! Who needs vampires and werewolves and zombies and Freddy Kruger?

I'm a stick in the mud, but my grown boys are still enjoying Halloween. Son #1's wife purchased some adorable secondhand costumes for the twins (one will be a bumblebee, the other a pumpkin). Son #2 won a "Best Costume" ribbon last weekend at a friend's Halloween bash. He went dressed as Santa Claus, with his beard painted white and everything. Sons #3 and #4 recently got together with some cousins and friends to carve jack-o-lanterns. Check out the picture below; didn't they do an amazing job? I don't think my boys will ever outgrow their fascination with dinosaurs! And son #5 told me last night that he spent $50 on a Simpsons-themed costume that he just had to have. Apparently college students are really just big kids at heart.
My husband and I are just a couple of fuddy-duddies, I guess. We aren't dressing up; we aren't going to any parties. We're just hoping there are some candy bars left when the trick-or-treating is over.

Happy Halloween!