Halloween...just another day

I have a confession.

Halloween...not really my thing.

I don't really get into all the costume-wearing, party-going, pumpkin-carving, haunted hay-riding affairs. I'm just as content to let the calendar roll from October into November with the same old normal routine that brought me into the month.

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate Halloween. I have nothing against witches, vampires, ghosts, and goblins...in fact I prefer the paranormal and creepy in most of my reading material. And I do acknowledge the holiday for the sake of my 2 kids (who have been planning their costumes for trick-or-treating since July).

But I don't wear costumes myself. I don't decorate. I don't do the parties, or the hayrides, or the haunted houses. I very rarely have carved pumpkins over the years (and when I do it's only for the kids benefit). To me, it's just never been a big deal.

Why?

I guess you could blame my childhood for this one. This picture is of me and my little brother a long long time ago (and yes I said little brother—my mom thought it would be cute to send him in pigtails and a tutu but that's another blog post).


This was one of the only times I ever trick-or-treated as a kid because for a great chunk of my growing up years, my family did not acknowledge Halloween. I think it was a part religious, part safety thing. It was Detroit, Michigan in the 80s (where half the town burned to the ground the night before on what was known as "Devil's Night"). So for me there were no costumes, no ringing doorbells, no bags full of candy.

When I was 11 we moved from Michigan to Minnesota (on Halloween—go figure) to a quiet suburban town where nobody had ever heard the term "Devil's Night." And my parents changed their minds.

But then there was the Halloween I got pneumonia....

And the Halloween, several older bullies jumped my brother and his friend ripping their costumes to shreds and taking their candy....

And the Halloween we got dumped with 2 1/2 feet of snow....

Yeah, it never quite caught on for me...

What about you—will tonight be low-key or do you have big plans?