| Hope you had a happy Halloween, remembered to fall back, and have written your first few thousand words in NaNoWriMo. What a weekend! Halloween used to be such a marathon of activity, obligations and of course, quick chocolate pick-me-ups. In our old NJ town, Halloween seemed designed to kill moms. Even working moms had to take the day off and dedicate themselves to the holiday. (Or publicly admit they were errible, heartless mothers.) I had three kids in local schools, so the game was rigged against me. First, you drove your kids to school – trying not to be late – at 7:30 for the middle schoolers, 8 for the upper elementary and 8:30 at the primary school. But no costumes – no, not yet. So, maybe just a jack-o-lantern t-shirt or a Halloweeny dress or sweater? And likely they had a class party for which you had volunteered cupcakes or, if you were lucky, plates and napkins. At lunchtime, about three and a half hours later, they had to be picked up. They were dismissed early and were waiting for you at three different schools around town. The main streets of Glen Ridge were clogged with other mothers in mini-vans trying to collect their kids – hoping not to be the very last mom to arrive, and traumatize their first-grader. And then the local McDonald’s was absolutely unapproachable, like worse than airport traffic. So, even if you promised, it was out of the question. Smart moms had picked up Happy Meals between drop off and pick up and served them cold. Kids didn’t mind eating hockey pucks, as long as it was McDonald’s. During your one-hour lunch “break” your job was to get your kids fed, costumed, made up, if applicable, hair braided, or teased or spray-painted as required by the costume and return them to their three schools on time. And of course, again, traffic in this teeny, tree-lined quiet town was off the chain. People were skipping the main streets and zigzagging through residential side streets, threatening and scaring moms and little kids trying to load up the minivan for their trip back to school. And when I say “people” I actually mean me. I was weaving and darting, driving like it was the LA freeway – years before I knew that was in my future. Ahh… done. All three kids are at their schools in their costumes, consuming too much sugar – what could be bad? You had about eleven minutes of “free time” before the first costume parade at the first school began. The kids and teachers came out the back door of the school. Parents were lined up around the playground or track, and kids began to walk in a slow, disorderly circle. Even though 70% of the population of Glen Ridge was lined up around that track – an ample and enthusiastic audience – you could not opt out. You could not be late or absent. Of course your child wanted to see you there and have you wave. Of course they wanted pictures. Good parents took videos. (This was before cell phones were also cameras. You had to remember to bring a camera or camcorder.) Three costume parades, three school pickups in the afternoon. Three kids home, in a state of exhaustion and excitement, waiting for dark. You knew they should have a healthy meal before they went out. I often made a chicken and broccoli dumpling soup. It was popular and could be made in advance – except the actual dumplings. So, you had to get that going almost as soon as you got home. Trick or treating was always a delight – strolling with your kids through a dark fall evening, seeing your neighbors, having them exclaim at your kids’ costumes… that was the payoff. That, and we usually went to a neighbor’s chili party after all the trick or treaters were gone, or we were out of candy, whichever happened first. (The latter.) One year, I remember deciding I would ONLY eat chocolate, all day. It was one idea for how to restrict calories. How much chocolate could you possibly eat? And isn’t smart to forgo meats and cheeses for the sake of your diet? One of my skinny friends said, “I couldn’t do that! Doesn’t it make you sick to your stomach?” And of course, I, a saint and very good mother, dedicated to the rigors of Halloween for the sake of my children, said, “Yes, of course, but that’s when you just have to push through.” The other mothers revered me. That’s the ghost of Halloweens past. This year I face my own spectre – writing 50,000 words in a new novel by Thanksgiving. If 400,000 people begin NaNoWriMo each year, that’s about .1% of the population. I wonder what percent of our community are undertaking it. LMK if you are. I’m curious! |
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