Chills

The end of October is here, bringing with it harbingers of things to come.

The first is Halloween, or as it may be called, "The Gateway Holiday." Avarice and fun, all rolled into one!

Honestly, I like Halloween. It seems to have "kidded-down" in the past ten years or so. My memories of Halloween have very sinister overtones; now it's just another kid-friendly holiday that includes too much food you probably shouldn't eat. No doubt devil-worshippers out there are bemoaning that we've lost sight of "the reason for the season."

When we were first married, my wife and I had a difference of opinion about Halloween. I was fer it and she was agin it. Long story short, I won and she lost, which makes the current score:
4 Boy Mom: 48,672
4 Boy Dad: 1

Costumes are a big deal when you've got to usher 4 candy buckets - excuse me, I mean children - around the neighborhood. Of course, no two can have the same costume. A couple of years ago there was some coordination, as the big 3 were Batman, Superman, and Spiderman. I believe Sam was a pumpkin that year.

Last year, Timothy was Harry Potter, Stephen was Batman, and Jonah was the Blue Power Ranger (for there is no other). This year, the lineup was looking to be remarkably similar, but some last-minute changes have created it all afresh.

Stephen will be a baseball player. He is the family "baseball fan," with a lifetime total of 17 innings watched under his belt. No other boy comes close. Timothy was going to be Harry Potter again, but then he announced the other day that he'd like to be a mummy. I honestly think his interest is geared more toward the mechanics of the costume than it is in the undead. Plus, it's toilet paper; I expect lots of poop jokes tonight.

Jonah was going to be BPR again. His costume is more than a little worse for wear, since he wears it at least once a week as he runs around the house, kicking and punching the imaginary evil ninjas that must surely populate every nook and cranny of our house. But dragons now populate Jonahland, and when he saw a purple dragon costume a few weeks ago at Old Navy, his heart would have no other. Alas! it was too expensive, and my wife said no (booooo).

But we were at another Old Navy over the weekend, and the same dragon costume was on sale for only $10, so we got it for him (yaaaay). He wore it all yesterday afternoon and still has it on now at H minus 5 hours.

This year is my year to take the parade out for trick-or-treating. I'm nervous, of course, because this involves having the kids both a) walking along the street, and b) walking in the dark. My efforts to keep the boys "in the curb" have proven fruitless in the past; Jonah especially likes to walk in the middle of the street. We'll have to see how this goes.

The second harbinger is what I refer to as "mouse hand" and my wife calls "The Icy Claw of Doom." My office is apparently at the very end of a vent line, so if I leave it open heat just pumps in, making it unbearable. So I shut it off and keep myself warm with the several computers and monitors, which are remarkably powerful heating devices.

This works well, except for my right-hand, which stays on a computer mouse for essentially 8 hours. (FYI, my left hand types a lot more and can be safely stowed under my leg when not in use.) This exposure on my right hand leaves it very cold, and I gain immense satisfaction from using it on my wife's back, arms, and face.

It's a small pleasure, but it's something to do.