Halloweenie

October is a stressful month for me and no its not because I keep getting older. 31 doesn't seem so bad now that I am on its doorstep. No, its Halloween. See, I love Halloween in my own weird toned down fundamentalist Christian sorta way. I love pumpkins and all things autumnal. I really do just love the season. I love trick or treating and costumes and candy. Yes, all good things. You get to be a kid again at Halloween. You can dress up like a hot dog if you want. I am sure that would be frowned on for casual Friday, but not for Halloween. Its liberating.

My problem lies in the fact that I don't do scary. I don't do scary movies, costumes, and definitely scary holidays of which there is only one, but you see my point. I have never liked scary things. I don't like being scared. I don't like to go fast and I am most definitely not an adrenaline junky like Dan the man. He is the scary movie guy and I foresee my daughter following in his footsteps. I walk through target all tense and worried the whole month of October. I am terrified that some talking witch/skeleton/devil thing is going to scare the kids and scar them for life. This would most certainly ensure that I am a failure as a mom and should have my children removed from me. I hate when I see parents laughing at their little ones when they get spooked by some scary decoration or image. It takes all the restraint in my 5 foot 2 frame not to walk up to them and start an all out brawl in Michaels. Jerks. So you can see how Halloween is just a stew of emotions.


My children seem immune to the panic that overcomes me. They enjoy scary spooky stuff. They also know I do not. This information lends them hours of entertainment. Lets see who can scare or gross mom out becomes a month long game. They are indignant when I won't let them dress up as dead and or scary things. I like cute little cartoon character costumes. They make better pictures for my little decorative frames. Vanessa and I go round and round every year when she wants to dress up as anything she thinks might shock me. I am lightening up though. Each year I let go a little more. Today for instance, I let Logan make a bat. I don't like bats or their relationship to scary vampires, but Logan does. And really its not a vampire, its just a bat. He loved it. He has been flying it around the house saying "spooooooooky baaaaaaaaat!". He is truly amused.

I also let my kids keep the occult inspired Mr Potato head buckets they got from McDonalds today. I have taken a picture of one of the offensive images. I couldn't get them away from the kids before they started decorating them with the stickers. Ugh! They know that if they get attached I have a hard time snatching them away and burning them in a holy bonfire out back. So I rolled my eyes and said "whatever". I am not saying that all my rules about sacrilege on Halloween will bend, but maybe some. And I will try to remember that its a good thing that my kids are not easily traumatized like their mother.