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Our
Journey:
Journey:
Avalon's Army of Angels
| October 29, 2008 Trick or Treat starts... |
I am either the worst mother on the planet, or the
best...it all depends on your age and your
perspective.
In the next three days, my kids will Trick or Treat
a total of 4 times. Are you reconsidering which
side you're voting for?
OK, it all started like this. My mom's birthday is
on Halloween. While I had a few small things for
her, there was one thing in particular I knew I
wanted to look for, a pumpkin candle. I knew my
best bet for that would be Yankee Candle Co at
any local mall. When I heard that Tuttle Mall was
having a Trick or Treat event at the mall, it
seemed only logical to wait until the event, and
make it a family outing. That seems pretty
reasonable, right? (work with me here)
Since the girls' costumes weren't done yet, we
decided we'd go with something else they already
have instead. Besides, the new costumes were
for the "real" trick or treat night at Aunt Nettie's.
No sense muddying the waters here.
One day this week, we had seen a sign near a
local strip mall, about a Trunk or Treat that was
going to be hosted in their parking lot. As it turns
out, that just happened to be today. Funnier still,
it just happened to be on my direct route from the
mall to picking up Aurora from swim team. Viola!
My planned 3 Trick or Treats, suddenly morphed
into four!
I'm here to report, getting all dolled up and
traipsing off to the mall is a bad...bad idea. I
don't think there was one part of it we particularly
enjoyed. I can guarantee you that the 10
minutes it took us to convince people to let us out
of the candle store (no sir, I'm NOT trying to cut
in line in front you so your 6 month old is delayed
in getting his piece of candy - I just WANT OUT!)
was the exact opposite of fun. Not really sure
what we "loved" the most, the crazy traffic, the
10,001 people that stood in mind-numbing lines
to get ONE piece of hard candy or licorice, or the
amount of times we were shoved, stepped on, or
jostled. No...I really just can't decide which was
my favorite....
Note to self: ignore Halloween radio ads next year.
Check.
After a front line offensive push that would have
made an OSU coach proud - we finally fought our
way toward daylight, and the sanctity of the car.
The maybe-I'll-think-about-it hunt for the Trunk or
Treat became a I'm-sorry-you-got-smashed
promise to track it down. Off to Trick or Treat #2
we went.
As fate would have it, the Trunk or Treat was
probably the nicest thing we'll do all season. I'm
glad we hunted it down, and I'm grateful such
nice people exist in the world. It went a long way
toward fixing Avalon's view of Halloween.
Last year was Avalon's first Trick or Treat in a
wheelchair. The people in our neighborhood
were horrific to her. People were often
disgusted she couldn't come all the way to the
door (our neighborhood's houses usually have
steps up to the door). As we'd wind our way up
the sidewalks from the driveway to the door, kids
would push past us, knocking my girls into the
bushes or stepping on them as they shoved past.
When Ambrosia tried to be nice to Avalon and
just get the candy for her, people were so rude to
her, Avalon told her not to worry about it. And my
personal favorite, we were forced to take the
wheelchair "off road", from the side walk to the
grass or street - several times by selfish,
self-centered idiot ADULT neighbors, who
REFUSED to scoot over as they talked, or would
gang force us off the path by their "group" with
strollers and wagons. I'm not talking once, folks.
The entire night was DREADFUL last year. It was
demoralizing and exhausting for Avalon, and
beyond aggravating for me. Avalon can only last
for a few blocks anyway - to have so many
people be such hideous humans in that short of
time...well, it doesn't speak well for the people we
live near.
Trunk or Treat was the exact polar opposite of
the nightmare experience Avalon had last year.
The event is organized by a church that sits in
the back of this little shopping/business area.
Church members line their cars up next to each
other, with trunks/rear doors open. Most of them
were in costume, and a good number of the cars
were decked out in full Halloween regalia. There
was spooky music, fun lights, and the nicest
people on the planet!
The cars were so close together, Anam could
even walk, so I could push Avalon, and Ambrosia
could be a normal kid. Each car let all three kids
say, "Trick or Treat", and everyone talked to
them, telling them they looked cute, Happy
Halloween, etc. There was a "haunted" car
where a child behind a curtain delighted in
"scaring" my girls, leaving both sides of the
curtain in matching fits of giggles. There were
cars with smoke machines, cars with lights, cars
with entire portable Halloween displays. On the
backs of cars, in a parking lot, these people had
more Halloween decorations and spirit, than our
entire subdivision. It was equally as sad as it was
FUN.
The kids LOVED every second of it. They
couldn't believe that people would be that nice.
The candy was fun, but I think they enjoyed the
process and the decorations way more. They
would comment on each car and thank the
owners for the neat stuff. Avalon was worried at
first, she remembers last year. By the end of it,
she was so happy she nearly lit up the parking
lot. The whole night would have been perfection
in a package, if it hadn't been so stinking cold!
Next year we'll dress a little better, so we can
enjoy more time talking to the people. The kids
were pretty frigid by the time we got back to the
van.
All told, we had a great evening, and a good start
to reclaiming the fun of Halloween. As you can
see in the pictures, I allowed the kids to sample
some of their candy as we waited for Aurora to
come out of swimming. It appears that saying,
"Tik a Tee!" and scarfing down chocolate is
rather exhausting...
We'll let you know how the rest of the holiday
goes!
best...it all depends on your age and your
perspective.
In the next three days, my kids will Trick or Treat
a total of 4 times. Are you reconsidering which
side you're voting for?
OK, it all started like this. My mom's birthday is
on Halloween. While I had a few small things for
her, there was one thing in particular I knew I
wanted to look for, a pumpkin candle. I knew my
best bet for that would be Yankee Candle Co at
any local mall. When I heard that Tuttle Mall was
having a Trick or Treat event at the mall, it
seemed only logical to wait until the event, and
make it a family outing. That seems pretty
reasonable, right? (work with me here)
Since the girls' costumes weren't done yet, we
decided we'd go with something else they already
have instead. Besides, the new costumes were
for the "real" trick or treat night at Aunt Nettie's.
No sense muddying the waters here.
One day this week, we had seen a sign near a
local strip mall, about a Trunk or Treat that was
going to be hosted in their parking lot. As it turns
out, that just happened to be today. Funnier still,
it just happened to be on my direct route from the
mall to picking up Aurora from swim team. Viola!
My planned 3 Trick or Treats, suddenly morphed
into four!
I'm here to report, getting all dolled up and
traipsing off to the mall is a bad...bad idea. I
don't think there was one part of it we particularly
enjoyed. I can guarantee you that the 10
minutes it took us to convince people to let us out
of the candle store (no sir, I'm NOT trying to cut
in line in front you so your 6 month old is delayed
in getting his piece of candy - I just WANT OUT!)
was the exact opposite of fun. Not really sure
what we "loved" the most, the crazy traffic, the
10,001 people that stood in mind-numbing lines
to get ONE piece of hard candy or licorice, or the
amount of times we were shoved, stepped on, or
jostled. No...I really just can't decide which was
my favorite....
Note to self: ignore Halloween radio ads next year.
Check.
After a front line offensive push that would have
made an OSU coach proud - we finally fought our
way toward daylight, and the sanctity of the car.
The maybe-I'll-think-about-it hunt for the Trunk or
Treat became a I'm-sorry-you-got-smashed
promise to track it down. Off to Trick or Treat #2
we went.
As fate would have it, the Trunk or Treat was
probably the nicest thing we'll do all season. I'm
glad we hunted it down, and I'm grateful such
nice people exist in the world. It went a long way
toward fixing Avalon's view of Halloween.
Last year was Avalon's first Trick or Treat in a
wheelchair. The people in our neighborhood
were horrific to her. People were often
disgusted she couldn't come all the way to the
door (our neighborhood's houses usually have
steps up to the door). As we'd wind our way up
the sidewalks from the driveway to the door, kids
would push past us, knocking my girls into the
bushes or stepping on them as they shoved past.
When Ambrosia tried to be nice to Avalon and
just get the candy for her, people were so rude to
her, Avalon told her not to worry about it. And my
personal favorite, we were forced to take the
wheelchair "off road", from the side walk to the
grass or street - several times by selfish,
self-centered idiot ADULT neighbors, who
REFUSED to scoot over as they talked, or would
gang force us off the path by their "group" with
strollers and wagons. I'm not talking once, folks.
The entire night was DREADFUL last year. It was
demoralizing and exhausting for Avalon, and
beyond aggravating for me. Avalon can only last
for a few blocks anyway - to have so many
people be such hideous humans in that short of
time...well, it doesn't speak well for the people we
live near.
Trunk or Treat was the exact polar opposite of
the nightmare experience Avalon had last year.
The event is organized by a church that sits in
the back of this little shopping/business area.
Church members line their cars up next to each
other, with trunks/rear doors open. Most of them
were in costume, and a good number of the cars
were decked out in full Halloween regalia. There
was spooky music, fun lights, and the nicest
people on the planet!
The cars were so close together, Anam could
even walk, so I could push Avalon, and Ambrosia
could be a normal kid. Each car let all three kids
say, "Trick or Treat", and everyone talked to
them, telling them they looked cute, Happy
Halloween, etc. There was a "haunted" car
where a child behind a curtain delighted in
"scaring" my girls, leaving both sides of the
curtain in matching fits of giggles. There were
cars with smoke machines, cars with lights, cars
with entire portable Halloween displays. On the
backs of cars, in a parking lot, these people had
more Halloween decorations and spirit, than our
entire subdivision. It was equally as sad as it was
FUN.
The kids LOVED every second of it. They
couldn't believe that people would be that nice.
The candy was fun, but I think they enjoyed the
process and the decorations way more. They
would comment on each car and thank the
owners for the neat stuff. Avalon was worried at
first, she remembers last year. By the end of it,
she was so happy she nearly lit up the parking
lot. The whole night would have been perfection
in a package, if it hadn't been so stinking cold!
Next year we'll dress a little better, so we can
enjoy more time talking to the people. The kids
were pretty frigid by the time we got back to the
van.
All told, we had a great evening, and a good start
to reclaiming the fun of Halloween. As you can
see in the pictures, I allowed the kids to sample
some of their candy as we waited for Aurora to
come out of swimming. It appears that saying,
"Tik a Tee!" and scarfing down chocolate is
rather exhausting...
We'll let you know how the rest of the holiday
goes!
| Tonight I'm a princess with sparkles in my hair! |
| Me too! Look at my fancy makeup! |
| Taken at the end of Trunk or Treat. Look at those grins! |
| I'm a lucky dragon, I've got Elmo on my side. |
| Every princess needs a dragon to watch out for her |
| I believe this would be the anti-sugar rush... |