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Halloween is all about children, costumes, trick or treating, right? Sometimes I think I like the holiday more than my kids do!  My Mom loved Halloween, and after making incredible costumes for us out of robes, old curtains, etc., she would put on a mask, a hat, and costume, and ring the doorbell pretending to be a trick or treater.  She would have one of us fooled every year! 

When I became a Mom I could not wait to dress the girls for Halloween.  When my oldest daughter, Cara, was a baby, I had a blast indulging in adorable costumes for her.  Then, the year she was three, she announced she wanted to be a pink M&M.  Every costume shop had blue, green, yellow, but not pink. So - I did what every Mom before me has done when faced with a costume dilemma, (and what my Mom did every year) I made one. And I don’t even sew!

When the girls were younger I told my husband I missed the sidewalks and houses clustered together of my childhood Halloween.  He said, “Let’s go to your Dad’s!” It was then we turned back time and spent each year trick or treating with my Dad.  I loved walking into the house I grew up in with the aroma of Dad’s famous meatballs simmering in the crockpot. Ringing the doorbells of houses I used to go to as a child was a joy!  And every house was decked out in lights and decorations, just like out of a movie.

When my Dad passed away, I knew I needed to do something different that first year without him. So, we packed up and went to Disney World.  As my Dad got into his late 80’s he used to tell me the first year would be tough, so do something new. We did, and we celebrated his life and memory at the most magical place on earth.

Being a Mom is also about being a daughter and learning from my parents who now watch over us in heaven.  I recently was given an inspirational book from a dear friend and in it they said, “children are a gift, not a possession”. We treat a gift differently than we do a possession. We face challenges and joys every day, but I try to remember that.  So, I am grateful for the gift of my daughters, and for the parents who help me create a life of memories for them. 

-Jane