The Other Side of the Door

Oh how I have always adored Halloween! From the time that I was young, and I got to dress up for the day, to having my little girls and going through the excitement and creativity of watching them decide what they were going to be, it has always been one of my favorite days of the year.

When my girls were small, we always went to visit the Pumpkin Patch, each Fall. They would run around, their cheeks rosy with joy, and then they would each select a pumpkin to bring home. Now that they are all "older" (13-20), we have a lot of fun decorating the house, and although they still enjoy dressing up, the only one who has not yet outgrown trick-or-treating is my 13 year old. My husband commented to me, just the other day, that this would be the first year that we wouldn't have to take any of our girls trick-or-treating. I guess that it will be our turn, once again, to view Halloween from "the other side of the door". I don't really mind. I have always enjoyed seeing the tiny ones in their adorable costumes. I love watching their little faces as they choose from a basket full of large candy bars. Just the way that the candy melts in their little hands, my heart tends to melt with each "Thank you" that I have the pleasure of receiving.

I will surely miss chasing behind my own little "goblins" as they run from house to house giggling their heads off. I will miss their sweet little faces decked out in too much make-up, chocolate smudged around their lips, with bellies that are full of too much sugar. Yes, it can now be a bit of a challenge not wanting to let the neighborhoods new generation of little goblins run from my front door too quickly. I want to tell their mommies and daddies to cherish their time schlepping up and down hills, as their children run ahead. I want to tell them to allow their little ones the enjoyment of staying out a little bit later to conquer that one more street! I want them to know that sometimes our kids run so far ahead of us, that we are soon the parents who are at home, viewing Halloween from the other side of the door.

And so, on the night before Halloween, I am filled with the joyful anticipation that I get every year thinking about a holiday that is all about fun. As I kiss my big girls good-bye, seeing them off to Halloween get-togethers, I will turn on our porch lights, light the candles in our carved pumpkins, and wait for trick-or-treaters to run up the hill to our house. With each "Thank you", I will remember how much fun it is to celebrate Halloween from "this side of the door", until someday, when my girls have some little "goblins" of their own who I can, once again, chase up the hills.