Halloween 2010

     I love Halloween! It is such a fun time of year. We always decorate the house, have scary music playing and get dressed up to give the kids candy. Of course we are kind and gentle with the young kids, but, we try to scare the older ones. It is always fun to see the young ones all dressed up. My son has been moved out for about 8 years but my daughter and I have a blast with this occasion. We always get treat bags fill them with goodies get in costume and hand them out to the kids.

    One of my favorite Halloween stories is when we lived in Winnipeg. My husband was in the military then and my kids were going with their friends. I knew I would prefer to see who was coming than to open the door to someone dressed in costume. 

About one week prior to Halloween, I stuffed a set of my husband’s clothes and sat it out front on a lawn chair, then the night Halloween arrived, I dressed up and sat in another lawn chair. I was a witch with long grey hair. I could hear these young people coming, they were loud and swearing. I thought I would fix them. So, I covered my face with the hair and sat very still in the chair and had the bowl of treats by my feet. They rang the bell a few times as they thought I was a dummy, then, they saw the bowl. The boy reached in to grab a treat and just then I grabbed his hand. I said, "What are you doing”. He screamed and ran down the driveway. I still laugh when I tell this story.

   This year, I was feeling down because Halloween was coming and I knew the kids would not be coming to the Condo for treats. So, not only was I not going to be able to decorate, get in costume with my daughter but, there were no kids coming either.

     That being the case, I knew I had to go to my sister’s where Halloween was happening. She would have little ones coming for treats and decorations, and the grand children would be putting on a costume and getting all excited.

     I was still using a cane at this point. So, we arranged for my brother-in-law to pick me up and then my Hunny would join us for dinner when he came to get me later.

      The children were so excited my grandniece was going as the Queen of Hearts and my grandnephew was Captain America. They were so excited.

     I was going to be passing out candy probably for the last time. I not only had to get too the door when it rang without falling but also before the kids gave up waiting on the other side.  The other challenge was going to be giving the treats without falling on the children. With MSA when you reach for something, or reach forward it is very easy to lose your balance.  I usually have no warning, and just fall. This is a common symptom of MSA. The treats were up high enough so I did not have to lean over too far and the door opened to the left so I could hold the doorframe when passing out the treats. I am going to get an Oscar Award when this is all over.


It is the little things in life that provide us with so much pleasure!