Halloween morning started off with a question about Christmas.  “Mom, is Santa awake yet?”  Always looking to the next best thing, this kid…

Because Robbie had to stay home from school for a second day, I was forced to make a difficult decision.  Did I let him go to his pre-school Halloween parade?  Or did I keep him home?  In the end, I had to make a decision that was, it seems, more difficult for me than for Robbie.  We didn’t go to the parade.  He is young enough that he has no real idea what he missed.  And I can, barely, manage to deal with the fact that I won’t have pictures of his three-year-old Halloween parade.

We still managed to get some trick-or-treating in, though.  After all, that’s the part Robbie has been looking forward to for the past eight weeks.  So, instead of going to a parade, we practiced trick-or-treating early at Aunt Hilary’s house during lunch.

Later in the afternoon, I took Robbie to an old family friend’s house to trick or treat.  Speedy’s house was always our first stop as kids, so it was a surreal experience to take my own child there, to watch him run up the walk and ring the doorbell.  It’s moments like these that make being home so incredible.  There’s something about watching my child do the same things I did when I was little.

Later, when it actually was time to trick or treat, Nona and I took Robbie around the new neighborhood.  Then he went around with friends.  And finally, Aunt Hilary took him around her street (thank goodness we all live so close together!).  This was Robbie’s fourth Halloween (how did that happen?!) but his first with my family.  Before, they only had pictures.  No mischevious little boy who rang his own doorbell for candy three times.

And then, as suddenly as it began, it was over.  Time for bed, the magic of ghosts and gobblins ready to rest for another year. A little part of me was sad about this because I think I’ve had as much fun as Robbie has getting ready.  Thank goodness there are a few more holidays around the corner!