Halloween....the entrance to the HOLIDAYS...

The holiday is finally past us and I keep hearing the song “I will survive” rolling through my head.  Of all the holidays (if you consider it a holiday), Halloween is one of the most adventure packed holidays of the year.  I find myself engulfed in decorating with webs, prepping costumes, and building up a supply of candy to pass out.  Every year, I am amazed at the turnout in our neighborhood and this year was no different.  We hit 300 plus!

As I sat and prepared the children for their adventure, I took a moment to reflect on all the other years of trick or treating.  I thought of how my sons interests went from an elephant, spider, ninja, vampire…and this year a gruesome “mummy doctor”.  I thought of how my daughter continued down the path of needing to look “pretty” and yes even witches can be pretty!  I thought there is so much more to this adventure then just gathering candy and playing dress up.

It is an opportunity to be someone or something else.  It is an opportunity to hide behind a mask or face paint.  I knew this at the moment that we all joined together to begin our travels.  I saw children turning into the most powerful ninjas.  I saw girls dressed up like Cinderella prancing and dancing in their fantasy world.  I saw a life size banana showing the power of his giant like size and healthy nature.  I saw my son…playing the part of strong, powerful, and scary. 

When the night was finally over, we sat in bed and talked about our adventure.  The adventure that left us overwhelmed with the best sugar high of the year.  I listened to my son talk of all the friends he saw on his journey.  We talked of the up and coming BIG holidays and the preparation of a Santa list.  I watched as their imaginations grew deep and smiled as I remembered the joys of the holiday spirit.  I knew that even with all the changes in our lives…we still have the dreams and visions of the future and holidays to come.  Although our family is smaller…our visions and goals remain the same.