Just because your kids leave for college doesn’t mean you
have to stop celebrating Halloween. You can still put a pumpkin outside and
decorate your door with cottony spider-webs or a cardboard skeleton. Greeting trick-or-treaters can still be fun
long after your own children have outgrown dressing up to collect candy. When my twins were young enough for Henry and
me to accompany them door to door in our apartment building, I always enjoyed
seeing other adorable kids in costume and the delight on their faces as they
grabbed as much candy as their parents would allow. For me, it was always
interesting to see my neighbor’s kids grow and change. What costume would they
choose this year? Was it home-made or store bought? Cute or silly, scary or sexy, I wondered how
each child (or parent) selected a costume.
Of
course, welcoming trick-or-treaters means buying those big, Halloween-sized bags
of candy and paying a higher grocery bill.
Hmm…I wonder how much I’ll need this year. What should I buy: Tootsie Pops, Milky Ways,
Snickers, M & Ms or Skittles? I find
myself choosing my twins’ favorites—Milky Ways for Max and Skittles for
Sarah. At the last minute, I throw Tootsie
Pops (one of my own childhood favorites) into my shopping cart. Was I buying too much? Now that my children are no longer at home to
happily gobble leftovers, maybe I was going overboard. Like many other calorie-counting moms who
LOVE chocolate, I didn’t want a bowl full of sweets left over for ME to consume
during November. It’s bad enough (and
fun enough) that I’ll probably nibble one of those Milky Ways on Halloween
night. (Don’t we all?) But after that,
no post-menopausal woman in her right mind wants to be tempted to snack on
candy, especially if she wants to fit into her skinny jeans. According to my arthritic knee, I already
take more than enough dance classes at Equinox.
Speaking
of dance classes, our lovable instructor Matthew Johnson incorporated Halloween
into the music and choreography of his class this past week. Much to the delight of his students, (many of
us empty nesters), we danced to the Adams Family Theme and songs from the Rocky
Horror Show, including: “Toucha Toucha Touch Me,” “Monster Mash” and “Time Warp.” As a baby boomer, listening to the music from
that cult movie brought back happy memories of dressing up in black make-up and
getting wasted in the movie theatre during my college years. Dancing “the monster mash” as a 50-something
the week before Halloween has been almost as much fun as the old Rocky Horror
days. Best of all was Matthew’s
Halloween class finale. As “Thriller”
played, our dance teacher slipped on a pair of dark sunglasses and a silver
sequined glove— transforming himself into a convincing Michael Jackson, moonwalk
and all! So much FUN.
Halloween
brings back so many memories. As a seven
year old, I remember dressing up as Morticia Addams from the Addams Family (easy
to do with my naturally, ghost-white skin and dark hair). (Maybe you were Uncle
Fester or Gomez)? When I got a little
older, my parents dressed me as a flamenco dancer in a red and white polka
dotted outfit, holding a fan, with my hair piled into a bun. (My mom still has
that black and white Halloween picture in
her long-empty nest). I also remember
creating what I believed would be the winning Halloween costume for a contest
in my elementary school. After hours of
meticulously cutting, pasting and stapling construction paper and tinfoil onto
oak tag, I became an Ever Ready battery. The logo with the nine came out
perfectly! Unfortunately, I didn’t win the contest and don’t remember who did,
but I was very proud of myself for that costume.
If
you’re a recent empty nester and Halloween makes you sad, just forget about
it. Lock the door and go out for a
sushi dinner with your spouse or partner. If you’re a pet lover, another
alternative is to dress up with your pooch in matching outfits. A middle-aged woman I know is planning to
dress her Maltese in a “bad girl” costume to match her own. But beware, cat owners! No self-respecting
feline will submit to a Halloween costume without biting and trying to scratch
your eyes out before you can say “meow.”
I tried to slip a costume on Pumpkin once, (my childhood calico kitty),
and ended up with a bloody arm.
Living
without pets and children on Halloween isn’t so bad. It’s true that the days of
cute costumes –and snapping adorable pictures of my children wearing them—are
over. But so too are the heated arguments
with my twins over how much candy can be eaten in a single evening. No more
waiting for our slow, overcrowded elevators on Halloween night, or sweating on
stairways because we’re in too big a hurry.
If you don’t believe me, just check out my essay, “Halloween Hell,”
published this week on-line at Halloween Hell | Wild Violet online literary
magazine and you’ll see why
being an empty nester on this holiday can be a pleasure. Although I will
always miss Sparky (our Norwich Terrier who died earlier this year), I have
fond memories of helping Max dress him as Wonder Dog one Halloween. This year I will enjoy the steady parade of
children and parents ringing my doorbell without worrying that Sparky might
nose his way into a closet or cabinet to devour toxic amounts of chocolate and
end up at an Animal Hospital (which happened twice). I’m curious to see how many boys in my
building are dressed as Ninjas and how many girls chose to be Elsa from
“Frozen.” According to Ricky’s on East
75th Street near me, these were the best-selling Halloween costumes
in 2014. (No, the Hazmat suits were not
big hits, despite the arrival of Ebola in the Big Apple.) Tonight I’m hoping to empty my candy
container in less than two hours. If I’m
too tired to answer the door after that, I’ll just abandon the bowl outside,
knowing that the contents will magically disappear by morning.
Labels: candy, cats, costumes, dogs, Ebola, empty nest, Equinox, Ever Ready battery, flamenco dancers, Frozen, Halloween, hazmat suits, Maltese, Michael Jackson, ninjas, Ricky's, Rocky Horror Show, The Addams Family