Mark Twain

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do ...
Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Memories of Halloween

Halloween 2020 was bound to be different from any previous Halloween of my memory.  It was my grand daughter's first Halloween - or rather the first one she would be able to participate in. 

Her parents planned a party at home for her - a small family gathering, just me and her grandfather and her Aunt.  We came done up in witch hats and blinking light necklaces and wrapped Halloween cookies for her treat bag.

My two beautiful ladies - Esk and my daughter!

Her mom made the cutest Halloween cake - from scratch, no less.  Cute as could be and very delicious. (Low in calories, too.  Not!)


Her parents had a Halloween blow up figure in the back yard, a scavenger hunt in the house for Halloween goodies and a yummy dinner of barbecue ribs. 

She was dressed as a ballerina! 


Even her dog Rags had a costume - devil wings - that he wore for only about 2 minutes because he was sort of terrorized by them and we couldn't leave them on when we saw his reaction.  Poor boy.  For such a big imposing bully (English Bulldog), he is secretly not imposing at all.


I love this picture of my son and his daughter. 

He is such a good guy and it warms my heart totally to see him gently nurturing such a beautiful child.  

And Halloween just wouldn't be Halloween unless you visited a neighbor and greeted them with a "Trick or Treat."  Their few neighbors live on 6 or more acre plots - just visible from their own property and trick or treating was a rare occurrence. No other children live on that lane.  


Esk came with a small bag of treats for the neighbors!!

But one neighbor - an elderly couple who seem to have struck up a neighborly relationship with the younger new comers on the lane (my son and his wife) invited this little person, my dear Esk,  to make a trick or treat visit to them.  So we all walked down the lane in the late afternoon to visit and get a piece of candy.   So much fun.  More fun than canvasing a townhouse development or apartment project where the neighbors are on top of each other and the candy haul would become too heavy for those little arms to carry.  

The candy dish was on the bottom step.

And how much fun it was to see the neighbors encourage Esk to take more candy (in fact take the whole bowl - of about 20 pieces) while she had mother's words of repeating in her head, "Esk, when you visit you take just one piece."  You can be sure Esk walked away with all the pieces!

And the adults got to visit for a short time while Esk picked candy one piece at a time.  It was so much fun.


Esk was not frightened at all by the images moving on her walls.  She loves the Halloween cartoons and stories so much.  

Some day things might go back to normal, but for now, making new memories (safe and socially distant memories) is what it is all about.


Her Trick or Treat bag!


 

8 comments:

Leftycrafter said...

What a heart warming story. It shows that there is still very special memories to be made even in these, not so special times. Bravo for the elderly neighbors for making Esks first Halloween a little more special. Esk's parents did a marvelous job of making sure this day was perfect for everyone. Well, other than the terrified dog lol. Thank you for this story.

Lynne said...

Oh my, is your grand adorable!
What a fun Halloween happening and memory for her.
I loved that you all participated!
Loved seeing the pictures . . . and thank you!

Michelle said...

Seconding what the other commenters said!

Marie Smith said...

Making beautiful memories in spite of the pandemic. Such a little sweetie!

happyone said...

What a great Halloween in spite of the virus!!
Esk looks adorable in her costume.
Yummy, what a great looking cake - I'd sure love a piece of it!! :)

Becki said...

Ditto to all the comments here. I'm impressed with all the effort. And the neighbors look like a fun couple. :)

Susan said...

What a precious family you have. And your granddaughter is just beautiful!

Leigh said...

Aw, what a delightful post! Esk is so pretty. Sounds like she was belle of the neighborhood while trick or treating. And the cake! So clever.