Trick or Treat

When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween.
~Author Unknown

Tomorrow is Halloween and I'm going to make a concerted effort today to get in the spirit of the holiday. I usually buy at least three pumpkins, wrap spider webs around the bushes, put the tombstone out and generally creep the house up. My efforts have been more modest this year so I will try to crank it up a notch. I filled sixty treat bags for the first of the kids who come by tomorrow. I have a big bowl of candy to distribute once those bags are gone. Yesterday I bought a big pumpkin which I will try and find a creative way to carve today. I haven't bought any webs or ghosts to hang in the tree but I will dig the tombstone out of the basement and replace the battery in it so that it speaks to the kids when they cross its path. I haven't even figured out what I'm going to be tomorrow so the likely scenario is that I'll end up a ghoul - white faced with a tinge of green and black decay.

As a rule, I love Halloween. I seem to be struggling a bit with jet lag this week which has thrown a bit of a damper on my enthusiasm. I've also been worried about Jacob who is (thank God)finally on the recovery end of a bad bout of flu which developed when Merv and I were in Rome. He developed a secondary infection which the on-campus doctor treated with penicillin and he is over the worst. He's hoping to be well enough to join in with the other students in his residence tomorrow night to participate in an annual south residence program called "Trick or Eat". Apparently, the students dress up in costume and go from house to house around Guelph collecting canned goods for a local food bank. Residents are ready every year to donate to the students as this tradition is apparently long-standing.

On Sunday, Merv and I are driving to Guelph to take Jacob out for lunch. We will bring the cold weather jackets he left at home as the weather has now turned. I bought a big box of Halloween treats and a new set of towels to take as well as the small gifts we brought for him from Rome. I can hardly wait to see him. Jacob and I texted several times each day when we were away. I got a whole new sense of feeling helpless being thousands of miles away from my child when he was so sick.

Happy Halloween to one and all. Hope your holiday is all treats and no tricks.