Halloween 2012 - We live in another time and place

Happy Halloween!

I know what you are thinking.  It's Halloween again.  For some Halloween raises the question of commercialism - just another holiday to generate revenue for businesses.  For others, it is not an occasion to celebrate - it is associated with the occult, witchcraft, and the Festival of the Dead.  For those responsible for traditional forms of social control it has become a night of reckless abandon and destruction of property.  Others argue that whatever the origins and whatever the abuses are each year, Halloween has simply become a secular  celebration.  A night for kids to have some fun.

This is my Giant's World Series Panda Halloween kid.  We went to the pumpkin patch and picked up a pumpkin - ok 2 and they were expensive but I think we can spring for two pumpkins once a year.

Some schools are outlawing Halloween because it imposes on people's beliefs and takes too much time away from the curriculum.  My kid's school embraces it, but keeps it under control:  A 15 minute costume clad parade around the school yard.

David was standing at the edge of the playground waiting for one of us.  I ran up to greet him during recess before the parade and said: "What are you doing kid? Standing at the edge of the playground."  He said:  "I was looking for one of you."

I told him:  "I'm here" and lifted this little man with a strong ego and a tender and more fragile heart than you might imagine and gave him a big kiss.  Like usual, he just kept talking, letting me know that his suit was a lighter shade of blue than his friend's costume, so I would be able to spot him in the parade.

The world is changing.  I never had that kind of expectation of my parents: attend a school parade in the middle of the workday?  I knew they had to work, to make a living to take care of us.  This little man has no idea what it takes to earn a living these day - and I guess there is no reason for him to have to know all of that in first grade.  There will be time for all of that soon enough.  

Still I was amazed.  He expected one of us to be there.  More to the point, the parents were there - in full force.  Almost as many dads as moms.  It was a sociological site to see or a socioeconomic one.

Ah, but I digress.  There he is: Captain America.  Hey - he was Freud in the private school last year.  This is a bit more grounded.  I feel protected already.

But just look at the crowds of parents - beaming and ready to capture the moment with snapshots and movies.

Well enough said and contemplated.  

We sent the boy off (ok Dad went with him while mom took care of the neighborhood kids).

Halloween for us is just another moment to cherish our kids, to observe the secular festivities that capture the imaginations of so many, and let our families know we love them.