My previous post was a bit of a rant against some of the ills of Halloween so I wanted to make sure I gave a more balanced perspective. I truly do enjoy Halloween for one primary reason: community.
Shannon, Matthew and I went out trick-or-treating with the Owens Family. Matthew is totally crushing on Mikyla, the four year old daughter of Chris and Leda, and their newborn baby Henley watched comfortably from the stroller. As the Ogilvie and Owens Family hiked around the neighborhood, a few aspects of community were recognized.
1) Trick-or-treating forces you to meet your neighbors (and usually they're pretty cool). There are few opportunities like Halloween where one can walk right up to door after door of neighbors in their community. We met all sorts of people who, realistically, we won't see again until next year. But, you also got a "feel" for the area. You begin to notice which houses have kids and which houses are elderly people we may need to care for later. If you're sly, you can even get a glimpse of their hobbies. One guy literally had a pool table 5 feet from his front door. I want to go hang out with that guy some day.
2) Trick-or-treating is always best with good friends. I'm not saying that a family shouldn't go out alone - sometimes an adventure just with the family is exactly what's needed. But, Halloween also provides a great opportunity to take an adventure with a neighbor. We had such a great time with the Owens family last night and at the end, I couldn't help but express my hope for this to be a new annual event. I saw Chris and Leda care for Matthew, and likewise Shannon and I were able to watch over Mikyla as well. It truly was a community raising children. I was even able to carry Mikyla's coveted Trick-or-treating bucket when it got too heavy!
3) You get to see who's game for future community. I'm not saying your against community, but if you turn your lights out on your front porch but we can still see the glow of your TV from the street, you're not exactly for community. Every time I saw the glow I wanted so bad to run up and ring the door bell relentlessly to see what would happen. It's cool though, there are PLENTY of people who are serious about community in the neighborhood. It's just too bad that you will have to miss out on the adventure.
What was your favorite part of Halloween? Did you see the community cravings that I saw?
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