On the doorstep of our first house, nobody was home. At the second, Drew thought the idea was to walk in and stay awhile. We had to tell him that we stay outside on the doorstep. It’s sort of strange really, trying to explain to a not-yet-two-year-old how and why we dress up in funny outfits and walk from house to house with a bag, expecting candy. I mean, really, none of it makes any sense.
We coached him through all of his lines: saying ‘trick or treat!’, taking just one piece of candy, saying thank you, and turning around to head off to the next house. In most cases, he was rendered too shy to utter the phrases we were so proud he had mastered. The fact that he was wearing an over-the-top adorable costume helped make up for this lapse.
As we approached one house I saw the man standing outside call in to his wife, “Hon, you gotta come see this.” I looked around — we were the only ones approaching. “Hurry!” He urged his wife.” He had called her out just to see the little dalmation marching up his front steps, dragging his pumpkin-themed gift bag along the ground beside him.
With each house, Drew grew more confident and more excited. After hearing us say, “ok, let’s go to the next one” enough times he started loudly shouting “NEXT ONE” before we were even down the front walk of the previous candy-givers. And there he’d go, trotting off in his tiny Pumas, furry white tail wagging behind his just-under 3-foot frame.
By the last house, neighbors of ours who he knows very well, he was running down the sidewalk, waving his arms and yelling all sorts of gibberish. Back at our house, he took just as much delight in passing out candy to the trick-or-treaters who came to call on us. When there were lapses in door-ringers, he tried to will them to us. He’d assume a lunge position, point dramatically at the door and yell, “COME! COME!”
Halloween is a silly holiday, really. There is no meaningful significance to it, but oh, something about seeing Drew experience it for the first time was so gratifying. I was proud of him for learning something new so quickly and taking such a shine to it (although, really, who wouldn’t take a shine to getting handed free candy?!) and excited to see him experience and become a part of a cultural tradition, one that–refreshingly– celebrates little more than the simple joy of being a kid.
