It's heeeere!

Well, it’s almost here. Halloween is Monday. Our house is completely decked out in orange and black, there is enough candy hidden in our drawers to give a perfectly healthy person diabetes, and my DVR is filled to the brim with all manner of Halloween goodness. There is FINALLY Halloween almost everywhere you look…and it will all be over in four days. Why is it that things only really pick up like this when there’s so little of the season left to enjoy? How am I going to get through 12 hours of Halloween TV before Monday night, after which the sight of anything spooky on my DVR will just be depressing? How am I going to suck the marrow out of these last few moments of my favorite time of the year? I always forget exactly how let down I always am as soon as the clock ticks over to 12:01 on November 1st. The Halloween sitcom reruns stop, only to return to the mundane everyday shows. The morning talk shows who had just yesterday decked their hosts out in the most extravagant costumes imaginable now return to their somber suits, regular news, and turkey talk. The lure of cooking elaborate feasts in three weeks, or the green and red and holly in four weeks, holds no sway over me. I look forward not to October 31st each year, but to the entire season. October 31st itself is usually a bit of a let down—if it’s not on the weekend, there’s not much to do except watch the last few Halloween tv shows, check out the costumes of Regis and Kelly, The View ladies, and the Today Show hosts, pass out candy to trick-or-treaters, and turn off the pumpkin lights at the end of the night. Even the promise of 75% off decorations and candy does little to alleviate the sadness of taking down the lights and decorations and putting them away for another 10 ½ months.


But I should be enjoying this moment. It’s not all over yet. Tonight is our traditional “eat gravy cheese fries and watch scary movies” Friday before Halloween. I’ve still got hours of Halloween TV to watch before the weekend is over. I’ve got my costume to finish. I’ve got a Halloween event to go to with my friends tomorrow. I’ve got pumpkins yet to carve. I’ve got a daughter to dress up and take trick-or-treating. I’ve got candy to pass out. There’s still lots of Halloween left to do in these last four days.