Trick or Treat

Sam was a cowboy for Halloween this year, but his heart wasn't in it. It could be because he's getting older. It could be because for the first time, he's the only one of the kids home this Halloween. Or it could be that he's never really enjoyed Halloween to begin with.

Whatever the reason, the first clue came when I mentioned to him that the Rag Shag parade was being held in town on Friday evening and that I could bring him. He didn't answer right away and he had that look on his face that said, "How am I going to get out of this and not hurt anyone's feelings?" As he was trying to come up with an answer, I tried to make it clear that this was for him, not me, and it was about having fun.

It turns out that having "fun" this year meant not going trick or treating in town. This was fine by me. It's usually pretty crowded. And while I don't mind it when it's crowded with kids having a good time, I don't want to be one of those parents dragging around a kid who would rather not be there.

Sunday night was the "real" Halloween. At the first hint of darkness, Sam put on his outfit, with a layer of p.j.'s and long underwear underneath, and we headed out about 5:30 to our usual places. Sam gamely let us take him around to the houses and he did a great job. I would wait at the edge of the lawn as Sam would go up and ring the doorbell. He would always say "trick or treat" before anyone even got the door open, and he always said "thank-you" before he left.

We went to a few houses in the old neighborhood. The Old Neighborhood is about four or five miles away and its where my parents used to live. We had been bringing the kids there on Halloween starting with my oldest. Long after my Mom and Dad moved away, we continued to go there.

For years the big attraction has been a house about half way through our route where they would give out stuffed animals rather than candy. As we got closer to this house, Sam began dropping clues that the end was in site. He would say, "Maybe a couple of more." and "It's OK if we don't do those houses over there."

He got a little hippo from the stuffed animal lady's house and as he walked away, he had that look again. I asked him if he would like to go on or would he like to head back?

With the same look that he had before, he said, "Well... I'm sure they won't mind."
"Who won't mind?"
"The neighbors. I'm sure they won't mind if we don't go to their houses."
"No Sam, they won't mind at all."
 And we headed back to the car.

We were home before 7:30.

It all felt a little sad; sad in part because it represented another end of an era. But it also felt like I had been making an old dog do a trick "one more time" and it clearly wasn't a trick he was preforming for his enjoyment.

It shouldn't have been a surprise. Sam doesn't like to call attention to himself. He's not a big candy eater. So, for some reason, stumbling up to a stranger's house alone in the dark on a cold night, begging for candy while wearing a cowboy costume just doesn't hold much appeal for him.

Maybe he just doesn't like cowboys.