things going bump in the night

Hold on, man.  We don't go anywhere with "scary," "spooky," "haunted," 

or "forbidden" in the title.  ~From Scooby-Doo

In 6th grade, I was invited to a Halloween party at David Oberg's house.  There weren't many times as kids when someone had a "big" party, in the basement of a house while the parents were upstairs instead of directing the whole show.  It was a Halloween party, which meant a costume.  It was also a chance for all the coolness that 6th grade life offered.  It was a big deal.

Most years I was a vampire for Halloween.  I had a fascination with the bloodsucking creatures of the night, from a young age. ( In fact, I was convinced that the spirit of a vampire lived in the shadow on our bathroom door.)  When people asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I responded that  I wanted to be an astronaut or a vampire.  However, a real party required a real costume, so I decided to stretch my comfort zone.

I don't know if it was my mom's idea, or my father's, but one of them came up with the idea of being the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.  It seemed like a good deal to me, and my mom set about sewing me a costume.  It was awesome, a yellow underskirt, with half red and half black over the top and "fur" around the neckline and collar.  It also had a large bosom, just like the Queen of Hearts, and the idea was to fill the bosom with large bouncy balls.

(At this point in the story, most of my intelligent and intuitive readers have realized the foreshadowing that has occurred and are thinking some version of, "Oh Shit.  Large bouncy balls in the bosom of the costume + sixth grade Halloween party = recipe for disaster."  Bingo.)

I remember leaving for the party excited about my costume.  I don't remember being nervous about anything, and I don't remember being socially astute enough to realize I was setting myself up for an evening of utter hell.  I do remember the laughter and the comments of the boys at the party, and, perhaps more sharply, the comments of the girls.  I quickly removed the bouncy balls, but the damage was done.  I can picture the "cool" girls and boys at the party, and I remember wishing I was one.  I remember going home, and thinking that I would never, ever try that sort of adventure again.

I don't know if it was the 6th grade fiasco, or if I just realized that my chances of growing up to be a vampire were slim to nothing, but at some point I decided that I didn't like Halloween.  For the rest of my school career I tried my hardest to avoid Halloween and Halloween parties.  The trend continued into college.  While my friends planned costumes and wild nights, I tended to stay home and eat the Halloween candy that no young ones showed up to claim.

Then, one day that all changed. One of our first years back in Fairbanks, Bob and I headed out to the Howling Dog in Fox for their legendary Halloween party.  Bob was a pirate, and I was a fallen angel, complete with black wings and over the knee leather boots.  It was quite a costume and that night I was finally able to put that damn sixth grade party behind me.  Since then, I've loved Halloween.

Bob and I always dress up for Halloween.  He wears a Halloween tie or his (slightly embarassing) pumpkin bow tie (yes, it's a bit dorky, but don't tell him I said so because he loves it).  When I was at Lathrop I had a variety of costumes, pirates, witches and one year, a punk rocker.  That year was fun - students couldn't believe their teacher had safety pins in her ears, green spikey hair, or Dead Kennedy symbols on her cool denim vest.  The handcuff trim was a nice touch, as were the ripped tights and combat boots. I went to pick up Jed from preschool and they almost didn't let me take him!

Now that I'm not in a classroom, I probably won't dress up this year.  I might wear my Halloween socks, or maybe sneak in something funky, like earrings or glow in the dark nail polish.  My kids however, are already planing their costumes.  Jed is thinking he'll be War Machine, which apparently is a character from Iron Man II.  He's never seen the film, so how he knows what War Machine looks like, I don't know, but he's excited.  Ali is going to be a little girl, I think.  Pony tails and a teddy bear, cute freckles and fuzzy footed pajamas, or  a cute little dress.
Hannah is thinking about being Ariel from the Little Mermaid.  I sure hope she doesn't want my help sewing a tail - that's outta my league.

In the meantime I'm going to pull out all the scary movies, light some candles and put cobwebs up in the corners of the house.  It's October. Time to eat, drink and be scary!