There's a First for Everything

Today was Lydia's first Halloween.  It was also the first Halloween that Brian and I shut off all the outside lights and pretended like we weren't home.  It didn't start out like that, with us all old and crotchety and holed up in our den (which is also the living room, family room, dining room, and front room.  I just used the word 'den' because it sounded more, you know, dennish).  It actually started out with us walking our tall, blonde, Oregon State cheerleader around to meet the neighbors.  We took her home when she started to get a little chilly.  We gave her candy and asked her to pose for our cameras, but she gave us the cold shoulder. 

Typical cheerleader behavior.

 

She wanted to go to bed early tonight because church just really takes it out of her.  Missing that morning beauty rest is not awesome, she tells me in not so many words.  So I put her down, sound asleep, and rag doll-esque about 6:30. 

And that's when the goblins and ghosties came out in numbers.  This is how it would go:  There would be a loud knock (or the doorbell would ring repeatedly because of one particularly naughty button-pushing little fairy who, apparently, couldn't read my big orange 'please knock' sign), which would set the dog to barking, and then the kids would yell "Trick or treat!"  And then the baby would wake up, screaming as if to say "Why does this keep happening?!"  And, just like missing that morning nap, it was not awesome. 

I would have just stopped giving out candy, but I had a huge bowl of it with even more in the pantry.  I was desperate to get rid of it.

I started noticing Brian getting agitated; i.e. he would walk around aimlessly and sigh heavily every once in a while.  I asked him if he was okay.  "Are you stressed about the week coming up?" I asked.  "A little,"  he said.  A few moments passed.  Then he said, "Actually, the thing that's stressing me out the most right now is that the baby keeps getting woken up by trick or treaters.  I feel really bad for her." 

And my little heart went out to him. 

So we shut off all the lights and acted like we weren't home.  But we so were.   And we sat on the couch watching football with an enormous, enormous bowl of candy all to ourselves. 

Happy Halloween.