October 31, 2018

Happy Halloween! 🎃

Autumn is here! It's one of my favorite seasons (along with winter, spring, and summer - seriously, I can't choose 😊).

I recently completed a chapter for book #4 that was difficult to write. It's going to need a lot of work. With the first draft of that chapter completed, though, I’ve made a breakthrough. Hopefully the rest of the book will be easier to write.

I’m also working on a second edition of book #1. While it still won’t be perfect, there have been changes I’ve been wanting to make for quite some time.

For Halloween, I thought I’d post a Halloween memory from my childhood.

When I was five or six, one of my older sisters (I have three) was in charge of taking me trick-or-treating. My costume was a princess. I was a princess quite a bit for Halloween, whether it was a generic costume, or an official Disney Snow White costume, that was my go-to disguise.

I’m a shy person to strangers. I’m loud, opinionated, and obnoxious to friends and family, but if I don’t know you I’m not someone who can easily go up to people and start a conversation. (As a child, we have the luxury of adults recognizing that we’re shy, but as an adult I just look grumpy and angry to strangers.) What does this have to do with trick-or-treating? If I went up to door by myself, I had the hardest time saying, “Trick or treat!” I remember just mouthing the words a lot. Even though I didn’t like strangers, Halloween was the one night I felt perfectly fine attaching myself to a group of children I didn’t know and following them up to the door. I stood in the back and let them do the work as I mouthed, “Trick or treat!” before accepting my treat. The biggest downside to it all is that, since I was too shy to say, “Trick or treat!” I was also too shy to say, “Thank you.” I was absolutely thankful, so right here, right now, I want to say, “Thank you,” to all my neighbors (even those who gave away pencils, toothbrushes, or pennies 😉).

Back to the Halloween when my sister took my trick-or-treating. I don’t know how far she took me, I don’t know how long I was trick-or-treating. All I remember is that I had to go up to doors by myself. She wasn’t going to take me, and I was confused. Mom would at least take me up to the door. Well, if there was no group of other children for me to attach myself to, I had to suck it up and go for it. I may not like to do things on my own, but if I must, I will (especially if candy is involved). I mustered up my courage and knocked on doors or rang doorbells. I probably still mouthed or whispered, “Trick or treat!” but I did it!

And then, I saw them. Two teenage boys. Their costumes? Bloody victims from slasher movies. I was scared!! I don’t know if my sister knew these boys, they must have been around her age, but I was NOT going up to any door with them. I tried to tell my sister. I protested. We had caught up with them and she sent me up to the next door with them. At this is house I know FOR SURE I didn’t say, “Trick or treat!” for I just stared at these boys, wearing the scariest costumes I had ever seen. I don’t even know if I collected my candy (almost positive I did, though – I mean, I needed a reward after that).

This Halloween memory has always stood out in my mind and I wanted to share it for fun and nostalgia.

Have a safe night everyone!

Brittany