Halloween, 2016. This day will go down in memory because it's the last official day of a Kennedy kid going trick-or-treating. Next year, Glo will be away at college, and John will have nobody at home to accompany on Halloween night.
Like most things, the Kennedys have their own philosophy about trick-or-treating, handed down from their father's memory from a poverty-stricken childhood. Think about it. If you didn't have enough food to eat in your own home on a daily basis, how wonderful would a night be where you just needed to knock on doors to get free food? And combine that with all things spooky, one of your favorite ways to be?
From the moment we could dress up Ethan and knock on the door for him (because he wasn't even standing or walking yet), we have trick-or-treated on Halloween. Oakwood was probably the easiest target, because the homes were small and close. Germany was a major disappointment, because the Germans don't trick-or-treat, and the air force base had stairwell apartments....and a lower income group of people living in them.
Our own Skytop neighborhood, however, is the best of all worlds. Homes that aren't too close (so not too many people come from other neighborhoods, thinking it's an easy target), but homes that are close enough (nothing out in the country). People in those homes have a lot of money and go all out with the candy. And again, not many kids around here trick-or-treat (are they at parties, or what?), so when we show up at the doorstep, people are happy to see us and give us lots of goodies.
And we Kennedys have Halloween down to a science. I take absolutely no credit for this. This Kennedy legacy belongs entirely and completely to John.
I remember when the kids were little, and they would come home tired, frustrated and sore. Their father would push them to keep going, even when they insisted that they had enough candy. His mantra has always been, "You'll be happy in the morning when you know you went to every house you possibly could. Just look at all your candy!" There were some unhappy feelings from our youngin's back then, but I know at least Mark, Hannie and Glo have been completely won over to this philosophy now. As Glo aptly put it when she returned after the open two hours last night, "Thanks, Mama, for your boots. I was running the whole time, and my feet didn't even hurt!"
That's right. We run the entire time. Little did we know that other kids don't do this until Hannah and Glo went trick-or-treating with friends a couple of years ago....and came home with not enough candy to even make it to CHRISTMAS! Never again.
I said to John last night that if we do end up moving, we might just need to make a yearly trip here on Halloween.
One problem though.
We are out of kids.
I feel like every moment of the 2016-2017 school year is going to be laced with a tinge of sadness for John and me. It's the last time for everything. We were talking last night, and we both agree: we like this parenting thing, and gosh darn it, we're pretty good at it. I sure wish we had more kids around so that these times weren't coming to an end quite yet.
Like most things, the Kennedys have their own philosophy about trick-or-treating, handed down from their father's memory from a poverty-stricken childhood. Think about it. If you didn't have enough food to eat in your own home on a daily basis, how wonderful would a night be where you just needed to knock on doors to get free food? And combine that with all things spooky, one of your favorite ways to be?
From the moment we could dress up Ethan and knock on the door for him (because he wasn't even standing or walking yet), we have trick-or-treated on Halloween. Oakwood was probably the easiest target, because the homes were small and close. Germany was a major disappointment, because the Germans don't trick-or-treat, and the air force base had stairwell apartments....and a lower income group of people living in them.
Our own Skytop neighborhood, however, is the best of all worlds. Homes that aren't too close (so not too many people come from other neighborhoods, thinking it's an easy target), but homes that are close enough (nothing out in the country). People in those homes have a lot of money and go all out with the candy. And again, not many kids around here trick-or-treat (are they at parties, or what?), so when we show up at the doorstep, people are happy to see us and give us lots of goodies.
And we Kennedys have Halloween down to a science. I take absolutely no credit for this. This Kennedy legacy belongs entirely and completely to John.
I remember when the kids were little, and they would come home tired, frustrated and sore. Their father would push them to keep going, even when they insisted that they had enough candy. His mantra has always been, "You'll be happy in the morning when you know you went to every house you possibly could. Just look at all your candy!" There were some unhappy feelings from our youngin's back then, but I know at least Mark, Hannie and Glo have been completely won over to this philosophy now. As Glo aptly put it when she returned after the open two hours last night, "Thanks, Mama, for your boots. I was running the whole time, and my feet didn't even hurt!"
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| One of the best costumes ever. Rey from Star Wars. |
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| John LIVES for this night! |
I said to John last night that if we do end up moving, we might just need to make a yearly trip here on Halloween.
One problem though.
We are out of kids.
I feel like every moment of the 2016-2017 school year is going to be laced with a tinge of sadness for John and me. It's the last time for everything. We were talking last night, and we both agree: we like this parenting thing, and gosh darn it, we're pretty good at it. I sure wish we had more kids around so that these times weren't coming to an end quite yet.
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