Missing Old Halloweens

With the stores filled with Halloween decorations and kids picking out their costumes my mind is filled with memories. I remember all the homemade costumes. They seemed to be so much more creative than the ones we can buy in the stores now. I remember Mom sewing and all of us putting on makeup and helping each other get ready. We would take pillow cases or paper bags to collect our treats. Not these fancy colorful plastic bags that rip and definitely don't hold as much candy. I remember looking forward to going to certain houses because they always had the best treats. Ann Johns and her homemade popcorn balls. Others with cookies, brownies and caramel apples. We would leave the house and our parents never had to worry about whether or not we would come home safe. We ate candy along the way without having to worry if someone had poisoned it in some way. The only thing we had to be afraid of was whether or not the neighbor's dog Moe was out. We also trick or treated for Unicef. When we got home, we spilled our candy out on the floor or table and the trading game began. The only candy we didn't eat was the candy that was unwrapped. Not now. When kids come to my door, there is always a parent or two standing behind them. The costumes are fancier and brighter, but not different than the kids that came before. People are giving out stickers, pencils and granola packets. When the kids get home, undoubtedly, the parents meticulously go through their candy, throwing out some of the best things simply because they didn't know the people they got them from. It's sad to me that the progression and changes in times have made us less creative, less trusting, less fun perhaps. I wonder if our kids and grandkids know what they are missing.

Today is clean for an hour day.