Once I was a pumpkin...

This Friday will be October 31st. For most people that means: Halloween! I remember as a small child helping mom to pick out my costumes and getting all dressed up. I remember the costume that mom picked for me before I was old enough to help her out. I was a pumpkin. Cute as a button with the bleach blonde hair poking out from under my green hat which served as a stalk. During the early years of my trick or treating, we would go with good friends Brandon and Clay. I would go around with them in their grandmother's neighborhood and we would get as much candy as possible. We would gather back at their grandmother's for hot apple cider and we would dump our candy into piles to see who had the most or to trade for something we might like better. As my sister and I got older, we started going trick or treating with some other good friends, Brandon and Lucas. We would go all around their neighborhood and then come back and compare candy. Sometimes we would have a bonfire and make smores and other times we would just eat as much candy as we could.

However, it never failed. When we got home from trick or treating, Mom would take our candy and put it into two jars. Then it would be rationed out over time so that we didn't eat all of it at once. For the first few days it was exciting to be able to pick the candy I wanted. Then, it lost its zeal and often my jar of candy would sit for weeks or months.

I remember the simple fun we had back then. I don't remember bad things. Now, the news is full of stories about child molesters putting certain signs on their doors to keep children away. You also have to be very careful about the candy you get. Each piece must be checked to make sure that nothing has been tampered with. The other thing I hear now is that this holiday is from the devil. Most churches will not condone Halloween and will have a Fall Fest or an All Saint's Day Celebration. What's wrong with letter kids have a little Halloween fun? By the way, my second favorite holiday to decorate for is Halloween.

So, as Halloween fast approaches, let us remember the more simple times. Do you remember your favorite childhood costume? Do you remember all of the candy? What are some of your favorite memories? I sure remember the good things and not trying to stay away from child molesters or people who thought this holiday was from the devil. Whatever the case may be, I hope that whatever you do on Halloween you find joy. I'll probably be with one of my friends giving out candy to trick-or-treaters and I will love every minute of it!