Halloween

Trev had football after school. We had a bad morning with him. He didn't get up with enough time to do what he was supposed to do. He had done a few things to make me cranky, like not shower his stinky body, not collect his stinky clothes and put on a load of laundry.  Riles gave me a couple of hugs in hopes of toning down my roar. It helped in that Trev made it out the door without a shower.

The boys report cards for mid term arrived last week. Rile's was pretty good with four As two B's and a C in Spanish. Better than getting an F in English like last year. At least the C is in a language that he doesn't speak. T man's was not so good. I picked up some one dollar bills at the store while buying milk. I did not get candy. I didn't want candy in the house. None of us need it.

Tom was not happy with my decision to give out money rather than candy. He was not happy with me last year.  I gave out change and the kids loved it. I used to give out dollar bars of candy when the boys had those big boxes from scouts. Saved what didn't sell and used it for Halloween. They didn't do the candy boxes this year, trying to go healthier. We don't get many trick or treaters in our neighborhood. I am probably ahead of the game by just not doing candy and giving the money instead. Riles said one escorting parent thanked us.

It was a wet and rainy, dark night. Trev called saying he was going to his friends to trick or treat. I was not pleased. They do have a small daughter still in the proper age group. If they were escorting the child than it was acceptable, but he said he was borrowing a costume and going out with the big boys. I told Tom and he disapproved even more. Nothing good happens when teens roam free especially in costume when they feel protected by anonymity.

 Tom says to call him back and tell him I am coming to get him. After this morning I know it will take a father's voice to get Trev to obey without a whole lot of whining. I tell Tom to make the call. He pulls out his cell and gets T on the other line. As I had prophesied, t wailed. 

T wailed when I picked him up. I had spoiled his night. He had planned to hook up with other friends later at the park and compare hoards of candy. Now his best friend is from one high school and his other friends he planned to meet were from another. It was an awful night to be out. I just read trouble in every word T spoke. I picked up the phone and dialed his father. Trev made me hang up, he said Dad would only get mad at him. Then he whined some more. I dialed again. This time I put the phone on speaker. Tom told Trev to get in the car and stop whining this was his fathers decision not mine. Not quite true as we both were in agreement, but even though the trip home was probably eight minutes tops, I did not want to hear my 230 pound, six foot two inch child whine at me all the way home, while I drove, because we would not let him go get up to mischief on Halloween  roaming the streets with a bunch of teenagers. It was silent in the car.

Teens aren't the only people roaming the streets on Halloween. The weirdos come out. Best to be safe at home. The neighborhood where I picked him up was loaded with parents and small children. The houses are expecting the hoards. I had to drive carefully until I got out of the neighborhood with children running out between parked cars. I saw from a post, the friend Trev had been planning to trick or treat with, his home had almost 300 children.

One of my friends told me the trick or treaters who really get her are the ones carrying the infant children. The infants are too young even to know what candy is. The moms are trick or treating for themselves. She had a friend suggested she keep teething biscuits for those children. The teething biscuits are individually wrapped and inexpensive. Maybe the moms will get the clue that Halloween trick or treating is for the small child not for the adult to get free candy. It is the same message Trev needs to get.

Next year he can have some friends over for a costume party or something. They can watch scary movies in the Man cave. Much more appropriate for their age and safer than roaming the streets like hooligans, frightening the little grandmas at the door expecting cute small children.

I was glad to have Trev home, though he went to his room and watched the computer, pouting. I didn't have a computer to pout over when I was too old to trick or treat. Or a cell phone to text my friends about how mean my parents are. Not that I noticed Trev doing that. I think he knew  we were not out of line. We don't rope him in too often.

I doled out the dollar bills to Riley to answer the door if someone knocked. Riley tried to turn off the porch light so no one would come and he could keep the money. I told him he wouldn't get anything if I caught him turning the light off again. We had six trick or treaters. I definitely was ahead of the game this year. I would have spent more on candy and been stuck with all of us eating it.

Our only decorations were a ceramic pumpkin and a Halloween table cloth draped by the door. I lit a hurricane lamp and stuck it by the decorative pumpkin. We hadn't even carved pumpkins this year.
I might try buying some pumpkin so Riles can try making pumpkin pie from scratch just to say he did it. He has been asking for pumpkin pie every time we go to the store now that the season is upon us.

Riles asked for his Thanksgiving feast for his birthday. It falls on a weekday this year. I told Riles to invite a few friends over for a sleep over, an all night gaming night, on the weekend before, if he liked. He is dwelling on who to invite.