Rainy Halloween

Halloween sort of came and went, and now it's onto the next holiday. We've had good luck in years past with the weather on Halloween, so the odds were against us this time and sure enough, it rained, and at times, it poured. That's not to say that we didn't have fun, but there seemed to be a lack of good vibes to the whole evening. It wasn't a bad night, just not stellar as in years past. For all it's worth, however, the kids raved about how much fun they had, so that's all that matters.

First off, we, meaning mom and dad, weren't in the spirit of things like in the past. We've had a busy month, and just when you think you have time to stop and take a deep breath, something new comes along. It's crazy at times. In fact, we hadn't carved our pumpkins until the zero hour, which was kind of a bummer, but we managed to get it done. Part of the problem was our pumpkin patch crashed and burned. For whatever reason, we got no pumpkins this year. In years past we had tons of them, for as far as the eyes could see. Then again, it was a poor year for the garden.

We also didn't get our costumes together until the day before, but that wasn't a problem because they were pretty simple ones, and N hadn't finalized his decision until the day before, so we were doing our best over here. On Saturday, Halloween, I worked on the barn all day pounding framing nails into my fingers while they toiled away at their costumes, and then that night we carved the pumpkins. The kids made great designs, and we lit them and put them on the porch, and then got ready to hit Woodstock.

Unfortunately, about an hour before takeoff, it started raining, pretty hard at times. It made me wonder what we were going to do, but there was no stopping A&N, and we weren't going to stand in their way. We hadn't heard from friends, either, so we weren't sure what others had planned. In the past, when we went to Woodstock, we saw tons of our friends, and we all ended up at the Woodstock Inn for candy, fun, and hot cider. This year, for many reason, I'm sure, they really toned things down, and we didn't see anybody we knew.

In fact, not only were the streets fairly quiet, but many of the houses were dark. The spirit of the season was somewhat dampened, maybe because it was Saturday night and people were out, maybe because it had rained so hard. Whatever the case, it had cleared up by the time we went out, and A&N had a blast. N in particular was excited about this year, and he really charged out of the gates and led the way. Fun to see.

Personally, it was my kind of Halloween, because it was not too crowded with crazy teens, the kids had fun, and we ended the night fairly early without too many social obligations. I hate to seem like such a Scrooge, but by the end of the day, I'm beat. I felt bad because the kids didn't really get to see their friends, which they did not indicate, but I can't help but project. I learned later that a lot of our neighbors end up going into downtown for trick-or-treating, and the businesses stay open and hand out candy. They also do a big thing at Cobb Hill. I also learned our buddies A&I were going to stop by our house, but it was late and they had to get home, and we weren't there anyway.

So now we know what to do next year. The kids love going to Woodstock, but we could start the night local and then head over there. That seems like a good plan. That will maximize our chances of seeing our friends, which is what it's all about. A&N raved about how much fun they had, and we're glad for that, even if it sort of rained on our parade, but that's life.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.