Talk About Scary!

So it's Halloween. I know that for some, it's not much of a holiday. For others, it's their favorite. We've always been pretty neutral on Halloween, and for our kids we give them the chance to stretch their imaginations and be whatever they want to be, and we try to cut out as much of the scary parts as we can. This year, Megan is a fairy princess and Jeremy is a football player (an Oklahoma Sooner, to be exact, but Mommy is trying to look beyond that! Go Gators!). We'll go trick-or-treating tonight, but only once around the block, not for miles and miles. We've gotten to know several more of our neighbors, so it's not as "scary" for me anymore. Two years ago when we went trick-or-treating for the very first time, we stopped at our next-door neighbors' home first. The kids did the usual...knocked on the door, said "Trick-or-treat!" when the door opened...and then proceeded to walk right past the lady of the house and into her living room. Oops. That just makes you a bit freaked out! Last year they managed to avoid the same problem, and I know they'll do just fine this year. In light of recent events (a little girl from the next county over was abducted, killed and left in a landfill in Georgia...so sad), I will be even more cautious than usual (not sure if that's even possible, but I'll try!)...but since Steve walks with us and is in law enforcement, I do have a little more peace of mind.

The kids have the most incredible imaginations. Last night a couple of hours before bed, Megan was telling me about her friend, gesturing to the air next to her. I realized that she has her very first imaginary friend. At least, I thought it was only one. As the evening progressed I noticed that she had gotten Jeremy in on the game. And that there were more "friends" than I realized. Turns out all of the Disney princesses (and their prince counterparts) are her "friends." She told me they had all gone to the park together, and they might go to the beach the next day, and she was just so excited about it. I remember having an imaginary friend when I was young, but I was older than my kids are now when my friend first arrived on the scene. I guess it's just scary to think about how fast the kids are growing up. I feel sometimes like I've hit the fast-forward button on their toddler years. They'll be FOUR in December, and I remember when they were just months old, and I was thinking to myself how far away the school years seemed. I didn't "wish" that they would get to that point quickly, because I knew they would get there and I would miss the earlier days. But it's amazing to me that I've been blessed with almost four years as their mom already. Imagine being that much closer to having two teenagers...now THAT'S scary! :)