Halloween in Pleasantville, Or Why I Am A Bad Mother

Happy Halloween! OK, I'm a day late, but I was busy yesterday. (By the way -- Happy Reformation Day yesterday as well!) Both the boys had Halloween/Harvest parties to wear costumes to, I had a deposition out of town and last but not least -- trick or treaters! So I was busy, busy, busy.

As I drove home yesterday afternoon with the boys, we noticed a great deal of activity in our neighborhood. Lots of decorations for Halloween. People milling about. Happiness everywhere. As we drove closer, a guy was out in his front yard setting up a popcorn machine. A popcorn machine! As we drove into our drive, our neighbor was setting up her outdoor fireplace to roast marshmallows for the neighborhood kids. Roasted marshmallows! Our neighborhood takes Halloween seriously. The neighbor was telling me that they always had lots of visitors, and somewhere in the neighborhood, someone always set up a cotton candy machine.

So, I felt bad that I had not even put out a pumpkin, or mums or any decorations whatsoever. In fact, I still have the summer's dead impatients in their flower pots near the front door. Dead impatients are scary, right? I guess they were so scary that NO ONE TRICK OR TREATED AT OUR HOUSE. What's the deal? We haven't been filled in on all the neighborhood idiosyncrasies yet, so I'm guessing the lack of decorations is a signal that we were Halloween scrooges.

So, I have a bunch of Kit Kats and Reese's Cups that, believe me, will not go uneaten. But I do have a slight twinge of guilt at not decorating for Halloween. I guess I'm going to have to go all out for Christmas. Think Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation. Alright, not quite like that, but at least a string of lights here and there.