Halloween 2013

Candy wrappers litter the carpet like loose confetti, my dark-lined eyes have been clean since Thursday night, and the mess in the yard echoes the remains of a good time--orange luminaire bags toppled over spilling kitty litter, tipped bikes where we deserted them, a plastic ghost table cloth torn and flapping in the (gasp) November breeze.

It was a great time.

First, the pre trick or treating preparations...

Kate's mom painted runes on her arms. Kate was a shadowhunter this year.

I was a fairy. Not Tinkerbell, though that's what everyone assumed. Just a fairy.

Bobby was a ninja.

Our trick or treating bags looked like this... "Have your parents check your treats" "Always trick or treat with a friend" "Stay in well lighted areas". Very cheesy. And they all ripped later that night and had to be replaced with pillow cases and Forever 21 shopping bags. But relevant enough.

 

The preparing was anticipation building and excitement inducing.

But the real fun started when the sun went down.

Important note: Our costumes are exactly matched to each of our personalities.

The trick or treating itself was amazing. We got so much candy, and it was one of our best years yet. One old lady gave us each a nickel. Holla.

After we were done, we went to McDonald's because we were in desperate need of some sort of nutrition that did not include sugar.

When we got home, we sat on the floor of Kate's bedroom and sorted and traded candy. Because, as our motto of the night proudly stated, "It's Tradition".

We reaped the rewards.

And, a video. Please take notice of our very inspiring discussion of: Twizzlers vs. Red Vines.

The first of the end-of-year holidays is down. Next up is Thanksgiving. And it's NOVEMBER! (confetti, confetti, confetti)

I am in love with holidays. I dig the whole over-hype and sparkle of decorations and Target setting up a small city of Christmas aisles the day after Halloween. I buy into the great to-do of kitschy bathroom towels embroidered with snowmen and freaking pinecones, and once one holiday is over, I am settin' up the excitement shop for the next one around the bend.

I realize there may be flaws to this philosophy and that real life is the in-between and, oh my, what my thirst for stars on my calendar must mean to some people.

But you know what else I think? To Thine Own Self Be True.

I fly my holiday freak flag proudly and am finding more and more ways to unfurl its enthusiasm on the in-between too.

It is all one, sewing together the nothingness with the spectacular, the ordinary day with the holiday and letting them seep into each other until you recognize and appreciate the magic of both a quiet cup of tea on an uneventful Monday morning and the colorful chaos of laughter around a Thanksgiving table right before the gravy is passed.

And the more you appreciate them both, the more of a master of "all is one" you become, brilliantly ladling the fabulousness of holidays onto ordinary days with spontaneous driveway dance parties and pulling out the good dishes for afternoon macaroni & cheese or rocking out red lipstick and two coats of black mascara for a morning of homework or cleaning your room.

One holds a spotlight to the other. The frenzy of festivities reminds me how I love the calm repose of our home routine and, likewise, the repetition of our beautiful ordinary allows me to plan for the wonder of holiday excitement. It is a good cycle. It is a grand challenge, that merge.

Looking out at the yard with its party remains that call for a clean-up and hoping for a quick decrescendo for my sugar buzz, I am grateful both for a fun night and the fact that it won't happen again for another year. That's the beauty of holidays...absence makes the heart grow fonder.

In the meantime, there's red lipstick and good dishes and dressing up in glittery wings on the day after Halloween.

It's November, Friends. November. With more holidays around the corner and (patting my chest)...beautiful ordinary here right now.