Tricks or Treats Or Maybe Memories...

Flashback Friday is here again. This week we are remembering Halloween Celebrations. To get the complete prompt make your way over to Linda’s at Mocha with Linda and see what she is jogging our memories with this week. Then remember to link up so we can all enjoy them.

I cannot remember a lot about Halloween when I was real small. As I got a little older I remember dressing up. I was in 3rd grade and I can remember I wanted a homemade costume so bad, there was a little girl in my grade that always had the coolest costumes and mine were bought at the store and I was so jealous. I can remember at that time a friend and I would go around our neighborhood while it was still daylight. Things were so different back then.

After we moved to Northlake I would go with my cousins and we would walk until we could walk no more. We would have pillowcases full of candy. There really were no rules except we were to go in no ones house and we always had to be with someone.

As I got older one of my cousins would always have a Halloween party and everyone would dress up and have a good time or what we thought was a good time. You have to remember I was not raised in a Christian home, but I am happy to say I never ever seen my mom or dad drink alcohol.

As far as jack-o-lanterns, I cannot remember ever carving one. Now that I think about it I don't remember seeing any Halloween pictures when I was going through my mom's pictures.  That's kind of strange because she always took pictures. 

I do remember my mom always made homemade popcorn balls oh they were so good! And I remember a few years she sat by the front door like a scarecrow with a mask on and overalls, when the kids would knock on the door she would reach over and grab their hand or arm or make a noise. She would scare the kids half to death, but they loved it!

When my daughter was really little we always dressed up. Everyone dressed up at work and then I would dress her when I got home.   I always made her costumes; I wish I had time to find the pictures of all of her different costumes. It was funny she was real little probably about 3 years old and I had dropped her off at my mom’s before going to work, she was asleep. She did not see me in my costume and when I got home she would not have anything to do with me. I was dressed like Aunt Jemima; I have to say I looked pretty much like her. I had to wash the brown coloring off of my skin before Janice would even get close to me. It scared her, she cried. I felt so bad, but we laugh about it now.

After we started going to church and I started working with the kids, we started having Fall Festivals. We would have costume contests, at times you had to be a biblical character, other times it was open as long as it was not the devil or witches. My ex went as a hunter and I was a hunting dog and Janice was my puppy. We would do hay rides down a deserted dirt road back in the woods. We sometimes would decorate out there; sometimes we would have someone with a chainsaw revving it up scaring the kids. We had a lot of fun. We would always take Janice trick or treating to relatives and people we knew. And we always carved pumpkins.

I think my kid’s experiences were different than mine we were always doing something. She has a lot of good memories and that is what it is all about. And now she is making memories with Eden and Cain.

Candy Corn – love it now! Even better with dried roasted peanuts. Hated it when I was a kid.  Least favorite I think is Tootsie Rolls, we always used to get so many of them! I do like the flavored ones though!

Nowadays we do not have many trick or treaters, to many other activities going on, which is good.   I always make a care package for my grandkids Eden and Cain. They enjoy getting things in the mail.

Hope all of you have a fun safe Halloween!

until next time... nel