When you have a just-turned-6-year-old, a 12 year old and an-always-a-kid-at-heart-Big-Guy, trick or treating is still on the menu. When you have a nearly 19 year old, no matter how kiddish in the heartish, and a 13 year old going on, er, someone older, the 7 year old merely looks like a decoy. This is why I am nixing the trick or treating for the older two this year and having a Halloween party for them instead. Crazy, I know. My energy levels are so unpredictable, it seems just this side of Bedlam to actually invite people over for a specific date, one which is on the calendar and cannot be fudged. (Oh! George’s birthday? That’s next week! Sorry for the confusion . . .)
Take, for example, what happened to me after the Little Guy’s birthday wherein only one quiet and well behaved first grader was asked to woo hoo with us. Flattened for days afterward. This same boy will be here prior to trick or treating but the Middle Child, the only one in the house with any kind of social life, will have three or four large teenage friends littering the limited floor plan. Even the Big Guy will have a friend, a great kid he met whilst bowling with Special Olympics; they became instant buds after discovering their shared penchant for the special features option (always watched prior to the movie) all things Star Trek and Legos Wii games (besides which, the way they feel about pizza puts the “p” in passion).
I have a plan, er had one. I was Planning to do One Thing each day during the month of October to prepare. Now it is a mere week and a half away and all I have done is put out the décor, made the courtyard festive and put away five of the eight orange and black totes. There is much baking still to do, pumpkins to be carved, the cloister to decorate with lights and tombstones and costumes to be devised out of nothing or a snap of the fingers or a wisp of air, whatever works best but I’m not counting on any of it.
One thing I have managed to accomplish. In fact, I think it was rather clever of me. I neglected (on purpose. Or not) to water my plants.
Because nothing says Halloween like dead plants. Brilliant. I know.