Worst Halloween ever?

As far as the weather was concerned, I think the answer was a resounding yes here in central Indiana.

It was just a nasty night. It was cold, wet, windy, and miserable. Temps were in the mid–30s, the winds were gusting at close to 30 MPH, which made the steady rain come down sideways. There really was no way to stay dry. So none of us were disappointed when the rain turned to snow. At least then it was coming down in chunky flakes rather than sheets of water.

Two years ago it was just as cold, but it was dry. Last year we had severe storms blow through, but they came with enough warning that the city and neighborhood pushed trick or treating back a night, to a gorgeous fall evening. This year topped those in terms of shitty weather.

I’m not sure the girls minded. They didn’t love it, but they were also undeterred to get out and get some candy. We joined with our neighbors plus some of their friends and had a pack of 15 or so kids. In the time we were out, I didn’t see another 15 kids total. It looked like most families were bagging it. And, judging by how many people did not answer their doors, I think they were just handing the candy they bought over to their kids and then turned the lights off.

Fortunately our kids tired of the weather pretty quickly. We didn’t spend much more than half an hour outside. We hit all the neighbors, swung by the home that turns their garage into a haunted house, and then cruised over to my sister- and brother-in-law’s where we warmed up and refilled before heading home.

We had left a bowl of candy with a note telling kids to take a few pieces at our front door. When we got home, it was still nearly full. I told our girls that they’ll always remember this Halloween, when most kids wimped out and stayed home but they went out.[1]

Oh, costumes. M. went as a girl Minion from Despicable Me, C. was Madeline Hatter from the Ever After High series, and L. went as Scooby Doo.

And now the holiday season is upon us. We actually bought a new Christmas wreath for our front door today. Just over three weeks away from watching the Cheers “Thanksgiving Orphans” episode and buying a Christmas tree a few hours later.

Reminds me of January 1, 2000, a Saturday. John N, Sean M., and I headed out, thinking “It’s Saturday. We should go to all the places we normally go.” Only no one was out, still recovering from ringing in the new millennium. We’re still pretty proud of our performance that night.  ↩