The Evolution of Halloween

Last week marked the fourth Halloween that Mrs. Dude and I spent with our Little Dude, even though he’s only 2 years old.  And each October 31^st has been a tremendous marker of change for our little family.

On our first Halloween together after we’d started dating,in 2003, Mrs. Dude and I went to a big party at a well known L.A. location. (No, it wasn’t the Playboy Mansion. Unfortunately.) Our relationship was still new and we had a lot to figure out, which we did over the next few years. Fast forward six years to 2009 when we found ourselves back at that same exact location on October 31st for a very different type of event and in a very different situation.

The Little Dude’sFirst Halloween (2009):  

Costume: Uterus

Halloween is often filled with scary moments and unexpected twists and turns. We were hoping for the opposite in 2009. Mrs. Dude was 38 weeks pregnant on Halloween when friends of ours were getting married. Thanks to a presumed-very-large breech baby we had a C-Section scheduled for one week later, but sometimes babies make different plans. I was somewhat nervous as we drove to the wedding and hoped that we would have more treats than tricks that night.

Though there were definitely some spooky elements, we made it through the night unscathed and exactly one week after Halloween, the Little Dude arrived.

Second Halloween (2010):

Costume: Giraffe

We had just moved a few days before and couldn’t find the Little Dude’s costume, but through a mysterious source everything inexplicably turned up right when we needed it.  We carb-loaded beforehand with my family’s traditional Halloween dinner of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, which was the Little Dude’s first time eating that delectable treat. That’s noteworthy for starting a streak of eating it every night for over a year.  Yes, he’s definitely my kid.  

Just a week shy of his first birthday the Little Dude hadn’t started walking yet, and wouldn’t for another 5 months,  so I was tasked with schlepping him from house to house.  It was worth it, as he was mesmerized by the lights and decorations we encountered going house to house.And because he earned several full-size Snickers bars along the way.  Fortunately for me his vocabulary wasn’t very developed at that time, so I assume he wanted me to enjoy them all on his behalf.

Third Halloween (2011):

Costume: Blue Monster

Two days before Halloween, the Little Dude caught the first fever he’d ever had. I was nervous that he wouldn’t be able to go out begging that night. And since he’d been walking for 6 months, I was looking forward to not carrying  him around our hilly neighborhood.  The day of truth was upon us and his fever had subsided. Even though he probably wasn’t 100% it was all systems go.  Obviously Mac & Cheese was a prerequisite for good energy and we brought the stroller with us just to be safe.  

It was a hot humid night and after about 10 minutes, the Little Dude ran out of steam. I figured we’d head home, but he wanted to keep going. Just not to keep walking. Somehow, just like the year before, I ended up carrying him door to door for most of the night. He got spooked at one house where the monsters (aka dumb teenage kids) jumped out of the dark to scare us,but beyond that had fun. And I got a full-size Twix for my efforts.

Fourth Halloween (2012):

Costume: Dragon

This was going to be my year. No more carrying the Little Dude!  He’s amazing, but also 40 pounds. Time to let his legs earn their keep. He had a friend come over who had never been Trick or Treating before. They ran house to house and the boy’s father and I tried to keep up. After a bit, they both ran out of gas and, not surprisingly, wanted to be carried. But the excitement and pure joy in their faces made it all worthwhile.  And this year the 5 ½ week old Littler Dude experienced his first Halloween, though he likely won’t remember it since he was passed out in the stroller all night.

So that’s how my 2 year old experienced 4 Halloweens in 3 years. He loved the experience and after double-fisting Tootsie Pops that night when we got home, he forgot about the bag he’d collected and moved on with his life. As for me, I can hardly wait until next year, though I’m not sure how we’ll juggle two boys that night. I guess I’ll need to have an extra scoop of Mac& Cheese to prepare.

How was your Halloween? What was the best costume you saw?

Small World? Yeah Right

A friend recently gave us tickets to take BC to Disneyland for the first time.  My wife had been very excited about his first time and wanted to make it special. As a SoCal native, going to Disneyland was an almost-annual rite of passage to her while growing up.  This trip would mark my third time there over the course of more than 3 decades.  I was happy to go, but I was more excited to not have to blow $200 just to walk in the front gate. 

The tickets we received were for a special Halloween event at the park.  I wouldn’t realize how fortuitous that was until later, though. But before we got to the good stuff there was a long road ahead.  Our tickets didn’t allow us to enter prior to 3:00pm, and the festivities began at 6:00pm. The catch was that BC usually naps in the afternoon from roughly 2:00-5:00pm.  We faced an interesting conundrum. If we waited until after his nap to leave our house we wouldn’t arrive at the Magic Kingdom until at least 7:00pm, which wouldn’t leave much time for the park.  But if we didn’t give BC a chance to nap, it was possible he might turn into Regan from The Exorcist.  

We took a leap of faith and left the house during what would have been BC’s naptime, hoping he would sleep during the 60 mile drive. He was about to fall asleep after 15 minutes when some putz cut us off, forcing me to slam on the brakes, which jolted BC back to life like Elmo on Meth.  Sigh. I had a feeling it was going to be a long day.  He finally fell asleep for the last half hour before we arrived in Anaheim.

When we parked and got out of the car, we were in an unfamiliar place.  And I don’t mean the parking garage the size of New Hampshire.  BC had taken the short road to Crankyville. Uh oh.  Would that short nap end up biting us in the Goofy? Only time would tell. 

Time spoke quickly. When we got on the tram to the park there was one child who stood out among all the kids on the train, screaming his brains out. Yup, my kid was “That Kid”.  I was put in an unfamiliar situation  because I’m usually the first person to give That Kid’s parents dirty looks while they scream in a restaurant or mall.  There was only one thing I could do in this scenario. Pull down my hat and hide. And try to spot another “That Kid” whose parents I could berate with my eyes.

My last visit to Disneyville was for SS’s birthday 8 years ago. She’d been there countless times so I let her lead the way.  We headed straight for It’s a Small World.  Once we sat in our little boat, BC’s eyes seemed to light up as he assessed his surroundings.  Suddenly we began to move as the song began to play over and over. And over and over.  The world didn’t seem so small after listening to that song for 15 minutes.  After I minute or two though, I had déjà vu of having been there before. My mother took us to Disneyland when I was a toddler and as I sat with my son in my lap, I flashed back to the moment I first rode that ride.  So much seemed familiar, and not just the song, though I don’t remember seeing Woody from “Toy Story”  there the first time around, circa 1979. Not sure why though.  

Since BC is still a little Dude our selection of rides was somewhat limited. We took him on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Alice in Wonderland and a few others.  The principle is pretty much the same for all: Get in a too-small vehicle for our group, get jerked around in the dark, see some scary looking creatures in bright colorful outfits and exit leaving semi-nauseated.  Sort of reminded me of prom night.

One cool thing about the Halloween event was that they had trick or treat stations scattered around the park.  I expected it to be a crappy mix of apples and pennies, so I was pleasantly surprised when it was the real deal.  And they weren’t stingy. But for some reason I kept getting the repulsive Almond Joy, until I started saying “Twix or Treat” to the workers.  Each station also had a healthy option for kids, like Craisins or carrots.  Because that’s what kids really want.  

As we waited in lines throughout the park I felt something I hadn’t felt in years. No, not joy.  Thin. If you ever want to feel good about your body image, go to Disneyland. Unless you are the size of Dumbo, there are thousands of people there who will make you feel svelte. I kept looking for Jillian Michaels & Bob Harper because it seemed like I was at a tryout for The Biggest Loser. 

As the evening progressed, we were having a great time. Other than his overtired outburst on the tram, BC was perfect all afternoon. And he was rewarded accordingly. Of his own volition. It only took BC 4 seconds to grab & unwrap a Banana Tootsie Pop from our Treat bag, though it took him half an hour to devour it and drip slimy banana goop all over his shirt.  

On our way out, we wanted BC to have a memento of the day, so we sought a pair of Mickey ears. After locating and trying them on, we settled on the adult size which was a hair too big for his melon and curls. Since he’s almost 2, I bet he’ll grow into it. Or we can just let his ‘fro expand accordingly.  

All in all, it was a fantastic day. We were able to crank through the park in 5 hours and avoided traffic both ways. And most importantly, BC had a blast. Actually, most importantly, BC fell asleep on the way home and slept till 8:00 the next morning.  And I figure that based on my established pace, I’ll look forward to going back to Disneyland sometime around 2033.

Thanks for reading The Dude of the House! Tell your friends... 

--JJ aka The Dude of the House

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