Halloween Night

As I can feel Fall in the air and the mornings are crisp and cool, I sit on my front porch and remember back to Fall when I was a child.  So many things that I have built my life around is based on the things I enjoyed so much as a child.  Grandma's house was always an exciting place on Halloween.  

We kids looked forward to Halloween for weeks before it actually got here.  You know how kids are ~ they worry you to death about what is going to happen a month from now.  We were no different.  We started planning our costumes and made sure all our cousins were going to be here for the big event.  We were like Cinderella getting ready for the ball, only our costumes were not nearly as pretty as hers!  We didn't buy costumes then, we made them from whatever our moms and grandma rustled up for us to use.  It was a grand affair.  And, not only did the kids dress up and go out trick or treating, the grown ups used to go, too!  Can you imagine that!  That was when the neighbors were friendly and no one thought about hurting a child or anyone else for that matter.  Those were the good ole' days for sure!

After our costumes were ready and the day was here, we drove to grandma's house.  We could hardly stand it!  We had all day to wait for the "witching hour" to arrive.  We were a handful for grandma to take care of that day for sure!

Aunt Helen and grand-daddy made sure we had a big pumpkin to carve.  We were to little to help, but we got to watch, and we did get to scoop all the insides out of the pumpkin, I guess the grown ups didn't want that mess on their hands!  We loved it!  They got it all carved up and a candle in it and placed it on the front porch, just waiting for dusk to come so we could go Trick-or-Treating!

We kids all went into the bedroom to get our costumes on, and, to our surprise, when we came out my uncle was sitting on the gossip bench, dressed like a woman!  We screamed because we didn't know him!  He wasn't scary, just funny looking.  Our moms and dads got ready and finished getting us ready, and out we went.  We had our flash lights and were on our way!

We went all through the neighborhood and then drove to some of the neighborhoods close by and visited everyone.  We had a ball!  And the candy we got!  Let's just say there were some hung over kids from sugar rushes!

Grandma stayed home to treat the kids who came to her house.  She was a very tall and slender woman, who moved very slowly and deliberately.  Never got in a hurry.  She loved giving out the treats.  There were no less than 500 people coming to her door on Halloween Night.  Everyone got a treat and a smile from grandma.  "You all be safe now" she would tell everyone who came to her door.  She would smile and go back  to her chair and wait for the next crowd to come by.

Halloween isn't the same now, to much mischief and evil in the world.  It is good to have the memories of my Halloween Night at grandma's house.  A few kids come by now, mostly family kids, and we love making the treat bags for them.  We brag on their costumes, tell them we love them and, as they turn to leave, I say "You all be safe now!

G