— old country house blog —

HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND GROWING UP

October 31, 2014

LIFE IS SO BUSY

that it does not have time to sink in. I have one child going away to college next fall and one year later, his little sister will follow…It is all lost in the shuffle. The hustle and the bustle keep it all at bay…and then, I will have Cooper…who will be an “only child” for 3 school years…the “Empty Nest” is still just a “future thing”

BUT they ARE growing up and there are parts of who we are…who were WERE…. that are fading…

…becoming a part of the memories…like the sweet sweet memories of HALLOWEEN…..

1996 - OUR VERY First Halloween! Tate was 2 1/2 months old...he and Harry (red) and Zach...snuggled and slept while the excited Mommies and Dadies walked to 3 houses...thrilled to be embarking on our new adventures in parenting and the Halloween ritual began..oh boy did we have a GREAT RUN!!!
1996 – OUR VERY First Halloween! Tate was 2 1/2 months old…he(yellow) and Harry (red) and Zach(blue)…snuggled and slept while their excited first time Mommies and Daddies walked to 3 whole houses…showing off their beautiful baby boys and feeling the autumn air while embarking on the first of many childhood traditions… our new adventures in parenting…..oh boy did we have a GREAT RUN!!!

……starting with the early October visits to the Pumpkin patch…

Tate's First visit to the Carter's Mountain Pumpkin Patch
Tate’s First visit to the Carter’s Mountain Pumpkin Patch

…all the way to the BIG NIGHT…THE SUN GOES DOWN AND Ballerinas and Kitties and  Robots and Pirates and Ghosts and goblins and milk duds abound!!!….

For a few years I was a frisky alter ego..."Dotty the Naughty Neighbor"
For a few years I was a frisky alter ego…”Dotty the Naughty Neighbor”

I LOVE HALLOWEEN. I love Dressing up. WE get to be someone else. I miss the months of decisional paralysis …when they are choose who they are going to be… knowing full well that one or all of them will change their costume Halloween morning.

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I miss pint sized Princesses and kitty cats and Bob the Builder and even when Tate threw a sheet over his head, cut two holes for eyes and was a GHOST. Or the year he wore “The SCREAM” mask…and scared all the little kids. Or the year I carried tiny Charlie the puppy in my down vest while I shadowed the 6th grade girls…feeling this warm lump in my jacket while I listened to the giggling and screeching and running from door to door.

Phoebe and all of her Gal Pals!!!!
Phoebe and all of her Gal Pals!!!!

And oh…the counting and the sitting and dividing up the candy…counting the snickers and the DOTS…

counting candy!
counting candy!

….but this year…for the first time in 18 years….nothing.I have had a lump in my throat all day.

Phoebe and Tate have left for a young life weekend and Cooper is out with his friends…and I am feeling very sad. They are growing up too fast. Taking with them Halloween and all MY fun while I got to be a kid again….they are growing up…Much much too fast.

Halloween 2005
Halloween 2005

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

7 thoughts on “HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND GROWING UP”

  1. I am just a couple of years ahead of you. Two years ago, I had a senior, junior, and freshman in high school. Now they are a sophomore and freshman in college and my only child, a junior. There’s nothing to stop this. Like you, I was kind of in mourning, knowing that it was almost over. But, I survived, and so will you. The good thing is that with only one at home, I have time for other things and the house is cleaner.

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