Halloween — exactly 10 days away — can’t come soon enough.
As I declared once in a column a couple years ago: “I love Halloween like I love candy corn, which I can eat all day, every day, all fall long.”
I really do love Oct. 31, which also happens to be my dad’s birthday and my parents’ wedding anniversary. I always feel the need to share that bit of info to help justify my obsession with the big day.
Halloween has brought me pure happiness throughout all stages of my life.
When I was a little girl, what I loved most about the holiday was all the candy. That’s all I cared about. Growing up, my favorites were anything gummy and everything chocolatey. Lollipops, too. I hated the homes where I was handed orange-flavored Tootsie Rolls (ewww) or actual jaw-breaking Jawbreakers (ouch).
When adolescence hit and my world revolved around my friends, we lived for the chills and thrills of scary movies and haunted houses. We were finally old enough to enjoy such things, where we screamed as much as we giggled. When I was in middle school, I remember going with my friends to a warehouse-turned-house of horrors. We were cornered in a room by a blood-covered, chainsaw-wielding, hockey-masked maniac and it was simultaneously the most terrifying and awesome experience ever. Back then for me, that was the true spirit of Halloween, in all its gory glory.
As a young adult, dressing up in skimpy costumes was my Halloween highlight. A revealing black outfit with cat ears or witch’s hat, maybe even a pair of fishnet stockings, and I was ready to party the night away. I feel like I should be ashamed to admit this, but in all honesty, I have zero regrets because I was in the best shape of my life some 20 years ago. So I’m glad I flaunted what I had when I had it — because now I don’t have it. But that’s OK; I have lots of pictures to remember this fun phase, which was over by the time I got married and started my family.
These days, as a mommy of three, the holiday isn’t about me. It’s about my daughters, ages 11, 10 and 6. I do it all for them and I couldn’t be happier: “Halloweening” our home, as I like to say, dreaming up costumes, doing festive craft projects, making Pinterest-inspired treats, preparing goodies for classmates, partying with family and friends. They look forward to all of that as much as I do.
My excitement for Halloween has clearly rubbed off on my minis.
“I love Halloween because we get to make jack-o’-lanterns, put on costumes and go trick-or-treating!” my kindergartner recently shared.
And 10 days can’t pass soon enough for them, either.
“She Speaks” is a column by women writers of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@staradvertiser.com.
