A Halloween’s Past

I miss being a kid in the fall.

I miss drinking hot apple cider after a long day of leaf jumping in the chilly autumn air. I miss the crepe paper-draped school parties and the pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies and the construction paper bats. And I miss the homemade costumes.

While other kids paraded around in overpriced sparkly fairy princess getups, I was at the mercy of whatever creation my mother concocted. Fortunately, I was not left in the hands of a substandard seamstress. My mom’s sewing skills landed me some pretty sweet costumes like this cat, complete with candy corn tail, ears and vest (which I must not have put on before my grandpa snapped this photo). A little dab of lipstick and a few strokes of eyeliner and I was as happy as a clam…err…cat. I didn’t have glittery wings or dollar store plastic wands, but my crafty costume was just perfect. It got the job done, scoring me more candy than I could eat in a year.

I remember bouncing down the street, loot in tow, begging each step of the way to have "just one more piece of candy...please!" Then swinging into the old folk's home, where all the sweet old ladies sat in a circle, offering pennies from their tiny coin purses. Then we'd make our way home and dump out all our candy so my mother could check for needles and sketchy confections, while my brother and I sorted the Snickers and Reese's away from the sub par Tootsie Rolls.

Oh, to be a kid again! I guess I'll just have to wait until I have my own children to experience the same excitement. Although I have learned a thing or two on how to make my own penny-pinching, laugh-conjuring costumes. For details on this year's outcome...you'll just have to come back for another post!

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I’m celebrating Halloween with The Secret’s in the Sauce for a chance to win a sweet camera. I'm in desperate need of a real camera as darker days threaten to make my tiny front porch photo shoots move indoors where the lighting is just a shade better than office fluorescent. So today was all about a memory from Halloween's past. Hope you enjoyed! 

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