Halloween 2006, continued

We left the house with candles burning* in the pumpkins on the front porch. Yes, we leave the house on Halloween. It’s weird. As I wrote earlier, no one comes trick-or-treating down our old gravel road. Not a single soul. Our first Halloween at this address became the first Halloween we would visit the Lawn as well.

We met David at church and walked down to the Lawn. For an hour and a half every Halloween afternoon, hundreds of area children and their parents descend on the Lawn for trick or treating. The students who live there, and their friends, hand out countless bags of candy each year. It’s a nightmare. Really.

Unless of course you really don’t mind lots of people crushed up against you, and tiny children greedily clamoring for candy they’ll never eat. I mean, really, how many 3 year olds need Laffy Taffy or Jolly Ranchers?

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a wonderful idea. I love the idea. I just don’t like being there. I love watching the kids have a good time, and that’s what keeps me going back year after year.

My kids love it. I think. They’re always slow to get into the whole asking for candy from strangers act. They tend to stand back and wait for people to offer candy to them. That does not happen very much on the Lawn. There are just too may kids who aren’t shy about asking for candy.

After we visited all the open doors, we headed back to the van. We ate at the dreaded McD’s and managed to feed 5 of us for under $10. Crazy. Will was happy with his nuggets and white milk. After that we visited Valorie who, busily working upstairs at the computer, really didn’t want to answer the door and had put her play-doh and lollipops out on the porch. The girls persisted in knocking and ringing and banging and making a nuisance of themselves, and finally Valorie came out. Lots of hugs later, we headed out to Grandmama and Granddaddy’s house. More candy, more hugs, and some piano playing by the Blue Fairy, and then it was time to go home. Katherine and Will fell asleep on the way home. What a treat!

*As we reached the top of the driveway we all noticed the wind had picked up, so Caroline ran down to blow out the candles. We didn’t want to come home to a shell of a house.