Saturday night was Halloween. That’s a little heads up for those of you who think that October 31 is just another day. So, we got together and had some games for all the kiddos – you know, apple bobbing, donut on a string, pumpkin races, etc. Samantha is an expert at apple bobbing. She just reached in, grabbed an apple and started eating it. And ‘donut on a string’: piece of cake.

Samantha was a lady bug and Timothy was my little monster. They both looked so cute. At about 5:30 we all wandered out into the neighbourhood for Trick or Treating (T or T). Samantha wasn’t sure what to do, as this was her T or T experience. She was a little overwhelmed at first, being the youngest in the group she was always last, but still oh so cute with her sweet little ‘trick or treat’ and her awesome ‘thankyou’. I can never get enough of her polite demeanour.

Just as the sun was setting and the kids were reaching the peak of their sugar induced excitement, I had an epiphany. This was the very first time I’d ever gone Trick or Treating in my life! I’ve been to the Annual Williams Costume Party (no, it’s not Halloween, we’re missionaries you know!) in Chiang Mai for the last 6 or 7 years. But we don’t trick or treat there. And before that, we did the harvest party at CCC in San Jose. Halloween was not celebrated in Australia when I was a kid. That may have changed by now.

So, it was lots of fun to be out on the streets with a bunch of Missionaries and Missionary kids, running from house to house with my kids, enjoying OUR first Halloween together. It was actually the first time Trick or Treating for a bunch of the kids, who have grown up in various parts of the world. So the atmosphere was charged with extra excitement and a sense of glee. Many of the Moms and Dads were commenting that they didn’t remember it being so much fun.

For me, it was awesome to be able to enjoy and learn another aspect about American culture: ‘Halloween ettiquite’. And Samantha held her own in a sea of pushing and shoving, coming home with a monsterous bag of loot. Timothy slept through the whole thing.