Didn't do it

We let Halloween go this year. I wasn't interested and neither of my kids who are around cared. Despite the seasonal mania of where we live, I managed not to purchase a single pumpkin, didn't decorate my home with spooky themed items and didn't engage with any trick or treaters holding the requisite bowl of candy at my front door.
Taking a pass was less angst ridden than I imagined. (And a little liberating in its own way.)

October in the Hollow

It's that time of year again- where my "quaint" village (population 10,198) and the final resting place of Washington Irving (whose famous tale is the source of our community's name) becomes the location of all things Halloween- so much so that when you live here you find yourself forced to wade through this beautiful month due to all the activities that inspire curious and numerous outsiders to flock here and spend their entertainment dollars in search of spooks and thrills after searching for a parking place and then surviving long waits in line. Fun! (well, not for those of us who actually live here...)

If you are the kind of person who wonders why Christmas has to happen every year and tolerates the necessity of birthday celebrations- well- it's a study in laying low. And when the actual day of Halloween finally rolls around you sigh with relief that it's soon to be finally over.