Monday, October 8, 2012

PARTY POOPER

Halloween is fast-approaching, and I am ashamed to admit that I am less than thrilled.

Apparently, I’m the only one who isn’t looking forward to it. According to Hallmark, the three largest party days of the year are New Year’s Eve, Super Bowl Sunday and Halloween. When I read this I immediately wondered what this meant about me, since I’ve never been a huge fan of any of these events.
 
I actually have many fond memories from past New Year’s Eve celebrations, as I often end up spending it with good friends and fine food. I suppose it’s the days leading up to it that bother me. People are constantly inquiring what you have planned to commemorate the last day of the entire year. There is always the pressure to find a fabulous party and stay out as late as you can on what is routinely the coldest night of the year. Now that I have young children, my countdown to midnight usually happens in front of the television, reveling in the hilarious chemistry between Kathy and Anderson.

I only have one small grievance regarding Super Bowl Sunday, which is that it forces me to watch football. When I first met my husband, he astutely sensed that I was not the biggest sports fan, but he ended up duping me into taking an interest in March Madness by entering me into a pool. Am I the only one who finds even the Super Bowl pool to be boring? The few Super Bowl parties I have agreed to attend usually culminate with me sitting in the corner of a living room nodding off into my third bowl of chili.

And this brings me to Halloween. If I were to pinpoint when my dislike of Halloween began it would have to be in the third grade. Typically, an eight-year old girl might request to dress up as a princess, ballet dancer or a witch. When I was eight I informed my parents that I wanted to be a traffic light. To their credit, they quickly fashioned an amazing costume out of a big, painted cardboard box and some red, yellow, and green cellophane. I even had a flashlight that I could shine through the cellophane. I guess I was a little too excited to show off my costume at the all-school Halloween parade because I ended up tripping and falling. In front of the entire school. And in case you were wondering, attempting to get up while lying flat on the floor with arms and legs flailing through a cardboard box is about as difficult as you might imagine.

Of course, I now have to put aside my disdain for Halloween and try to make it as fun as possible for my two boys. I will invest in the bulk bags of miniature candy, spend time figuring out two adorable costumes, and help them make memories. And when they get older and they ask me to watch football on Super Bowl Sunday, I will dig up my traffic light cardboard box and hide.   

   

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