Clearly, the ladies had had themselves a day, so I tried not to fidget while I waited for them to finish their conversation in the checkout line Monday afternoon.
With just 10 minutes to go until Trick or Treating hours began, though, I was getting impatient. I don’t like to miss a minute of the fun.
The ladies, one an employee and the other a customer, clearly did not share my sense of urgency as they rolled their eyes about kids these days and the sorry state of Halloween celebrations.
“We always made our own costumes,” one sniffed.
“It’s just not the same,” the other agreed and they shook their heads mournfully.
Finally, the customer moved on and the employee addressed me.
“We were just talking about Halloween,” she said.
“I know,” I said. “Isn’t it going to be a beautiful one?”
I despise generational judgment in either direction. I remember making my own Halloween costumes – the coffee ground beards, the tin foil over a Burger King crown headgear, the converted bathrobes. I loved Halloween when I was a kid.
And, 50 years later, I love it still.
You will never convince me that those glorious homemade Halloweens of my childhood were any better than Halloween 2022. They were both a lot of fun.
You know what I saw among the nearly 300 trick-or-treaters who came to our door Monday night?
Well, most importantly, I saw the cutest Anne of Green Gables this side of Prince Edward Island and I could not contain my glee.
I also saw:
- An uncle dressed as Prince Charming and his tiny niece as Cinderella. Come on!
- Whole families out enjoying the night together – witches and dragons and kings, oh my!
- Big brothers helping little sisters up our porch steps, and no one forgetting to say thank you.
- Grandparents manning the front door so the rest of the family could make the rounds.
- School chums recognizing each other under costumes and calling out excitedly.
- A perfectly coiffed Hermoine Granger who, when asked if she went to school at Hogwarts, smiled hugely and said,”I wish I did!”
I have had the great privilege of celebrating Halloween in the same house for half a century and I am grateful to say the view from our front porch is still just as heart-meltingly sweet.
Halloween 2022 was one for the ages!
All the costumes were creative and fun, but my favorite was “Grandma and Grandpa had a great time handing out candy.”