Halloween Now Has a Whole New Meaning

So, I have never been a big fan of Halloween. As a kid I rarely dressed up and went trick-or-treating. If I did, it was maybe for an hour and then I would run home. I loved staying home, being in sweats, and passing out candy. It was always a shock to the older kids when this little girl would open the door, give them a look of disgust, and give them the smallest piece of candy in the bucket. The best part of passing out the candy, I always made sure to keep the best candy for myself. I remember one year when we lived in Logan Canyon, my mom bought laffy taffy. Not the little mini ones, but the big, giant ones that were delicious. I could not wait for Halloween night because the only bag those babies were going into was the one I would hide in my room to eat later. It was that magical night that we didn't have one trick-or-treater and I got all the candy I wanted. Even as I got older, Halloween didn't hold the excitement and anticipation that gripped the hearts of so many other kids my age. Dressing up didn't excite me and going to random strangers houses sounded creepy. I love watching a movie in my sweats and being the one to answer the door. As a teacher, my outward attitude towards Halloween has had to change. There is nothing my students get more excited about than Halloween (at least until Christmas is almost here). They can't wait to talk about their costumes and what they're going to do. It was September 30th and we were talking about how tomorrow started October. I got 12 little hands in the air and one little boy said, "So teacher, I need to wear my costume tomorrow right?" No, I said. "But, tomorrow is October." Yes, it is. "And that means it is Halloween!!" It took a 10 minute conversation to get them to understand that tomorrow was October, but NOT Halloween. Also that day, we had an 8 minute conversation about how zombies are not real and mummies are. My kids were convinced it was the other way around and when we read a book about mummies, it started everything.
The wonderful (sarcasm) part of going to school on Halloween is that children and teachers dress up. That is right my amazing friends, I have to dress up. So, yes, it is a cop-out but I am wearing scrubs from one of my previous jobs. Comfortable and easy. My kids asked me what I was going to be and one yelled out, A WITCH! I said Hey! and they all started giggling.

So as you can see, I am still alive. And most importantly, so are all my students. Each day is an adventure with small treasures throughout. I am so grateful to be part of their lives for this season.