Last night was a game changer. Halloween. Over the years, I've bounced back and forth between hating it and loving the damned day (Day of the Damned? Who the "hell" knows!) "HATED IT," said in an obnoxious sniff, had been my mantra for a good four or five years. I was a Halloween agnostic and was not having any of it. "I hate the ghosts!" and "What's with the month of horror flicks invading my tv time?!?" Is there a Halloween Scrooge somewhere? I'm thinking the reason I don't know the answer to that question is because I could have, at some point, actually been him. In any case, somewhere over the past year, the fun of it all inexplicably seemed to find its way back into my world & I was once again ready to dish out candy and at least be part of the night.
Our street is known to be a busy one on Halloween night. People bring their kids from all different parts of the city for a night of going door-to-door in a place that they can be sure is safe. I'll call myself out right here and now by saying that, since moving in a few years ago, I've dreaded this night every year. "The traffic! The strangers! Who's knocking on our door?!?" Truly, I was the worst. Paging
Hal O'Scrooge....
By dusk this year, though, Jon and I had changed our m.o. at least a little bit and parked ourselves in chairs at the end of our driveway. Though ready to at least wave, that in no way meant there was room for door knocking or bell ringing. We had our bowl of candy filled to the brim and drinks filled pretty close to it. We sat back and waited after seeing the first few early birds making their way up the street from a distance, pick up truck following slowly behind with its hazard lights flashing. "Buckle up! It's going to be a long night!" I said and laughed with Jon about the fact that we're both such hermits, the thought of even interacting with people we know makes us both break out in hives. *sip, sip, gulp*
Here they came, some in groups, some with a sibling or two and sometimes more. We braced for impact. "Happy Halloween!" I said as a small little one made his (her?) way up to where we were perched. Silence. Covered in a skeleton costume, this little tiny thing was with a man who quietly said, "Thank you. Happy Halloween to you, too. " I looked back to the masked munchkin standing mute beside him and asked, "What's your name?" Again, silence. "His name is Alexander," the man answered. "Well, Alexander, your costume is awesome," I said gesturing with my hand so I could show the whole thing to Jon. At that moment, instead of reaching for the heaping pile of candy beside him, Alexander silently put his hand in mine and shook it. Now it was my turn to be mute. I stared into the big, brown eyes peeking out from behind that mask and saw something I never expected to find....the meaning of Halloween. After a few long seconds, I finally had enough of a voice to say, "Alexander, would you like some candy?" He quietly nodded. "Please. Help yourself, sweet boy." With that, he reached his tiny little hand into that huge Halloween bowl....and took a single piece of candy for himself. "Say thank you, Alexander," his father coaxed. Still silent, Alexander started to make his way back to the street with his father. "Wait! Take more! Here!" I said, stumbling over myself and my words and reaching for as much candy as I could grab. "Thank you, thank you so much," the man said with a gentle smile as he took the extra pieces from my hands. "Happy Halloween," I said as they walked back towards the street. Again, the gentle smile, "You too, ma'am. Thank you again." I just stared after them with a single thought: "I'm not a ma'am, sir, you don't have to call me ma'am..."
As quickly as that moment came and went, I will never forget it. Instead, it's with me forever and I'll toast it every year. Here's to Halloween, friends. Here's to Halloween and to Alexander-- Alexander the Great! With a tiny little hand and a huge presence, a silent little boy reminded me that Halloween is a holiday for kids of all ages and that it was time to get off my high horse, join the fun and start handing out the love.
