Ah, nice to be in a family neighborhood...

I've never had serious trick-or-treaters since moving out of my parents' house/neighborhood eight-or-some-odd years ago. In Springfield, Mo., I was in an apartment on the fringes of the city...nothing but a rooster running through the parking lot and cows in a pasture next door. In The Brook, our driveway was too long and we were next to a park--the dark, creepy house at the end of the block that kids probably were more scared of than anything. In Humboldt Park, we got some, but honestly, I had the doorbell ring more in ding-dong-ditch fashion after school let out down the street while I was unemployed and home during the day than we did for Halloween. At the condo, nothing--not a lot of kids around, and a buzzer entry kinda prevents easy access.

So, I was downright excited about the prospects of trick-or-treaters in our new neighborhood. It's very family friendly, and families have flocked to live here. And the trick-or-treaters didn't disappoint. Thank God for Costco's 150-count bags. Although, we didn't go through ALL of it...we probably gave away about half of the three or four bags on the night.

I was giving out handfuls of candy to the kids...I'm pretty generous. But, I had to leave to go to the gym, and I guess we had a good turnout after that.

Either way, the point is, it's nice to be in a neighborhood that reminds me a lot of my old neighborhood when I was growing up. Kids used to be out in force...including us. My mom and dad report that their doorbell rang only a couple times. It's too bad, since there ARE kids in that neighborhood. How things change...

Now, we need to clean, big-time...we're hosting Thanksgiving (I believe) again. Then, can you believe it, Christmas is right around the corner. You don't think so? Then you haven't been to the stores yet! Oh, and, in case you weren't REALLY convinced, check out www.wlit.com and see when they're starting their all-Holiday music. I love the Christmas music (have about 150 tracks on my iPod, ready to go), but The Lite never plays enough variety to not drive me crazy by Nov. 22 every year. I get a little boost the day after Thanksgiving, by "instinct" and "habit," but they need to improve their variety. Or just borrow my iPod.