And once he had it on, he did NOT want to take it off. It took quite a bit of explanation to get him to agree that he couldn't wear his costume to bed or to school. A side note...costumes have sure gotten elaborate over the years...I don't remember wearing anything like this when I was a kid. In those days, you had a mask, and you were lucky to have a matching plastic-like body outfit with just a picture of the character (spiderman, batman, etc.) on the chest. There were a lot of kids with Frankenstein masks, and superman suits (a bath towel as the cape, of course).
He was so excited running around with his cousins, going door to door, getting candy. I'm sure he never realized how much he could score with the good stuff, just by going up to a door, holding a bag, and saying "trick or treat". After about an hour his bag was stuffed, and getting heavy, but that didn't stop Daniel. He refused to let anyone hold his bag and he continued to lug it from house to house....he was not going to let that bag of goodies out of his sight for one minute!
As we canvassed the entire neighborhood for what seemed like hours, my thoughts, as they often do when watching my son, went back to my own childhood days of trick-or-treating. It was my first time participating since I was about 9 years old. I had forgotten how much fun it was for the kids...and the parents...but for totally different reasons. My son's fun comes from participating, my fun, as it usually does, comes from his having fun.
My thoughts went to my own dad, and how he must have felt watching me and my brother trick-or-treat back in those days. As a very conscientious child, my often wondered back then why the grown ups weren't as excited about getting candy as we were, not realizing that their excitement was watching their children do something fun and exciting. But they were excited...just from living vicariously through us...their happiness experienced and expressed a different way from ours, but no less intense.
Everything seems to come full-circle when you become a dad. Answers to questions you had as a child...come to you when you are a dad...not only what you were feeling back then, but what your own dad must have been feeling and why. Its quite interesting to think that one day my son will go trick-or-treating with his own son or daughter...and to consider what his thoughts would be as he watches their excitement. And its humbling to think that he will reflect on his experiences with his own dad, and better understand how I felt back when he was a kid.
Knowing that everything that happens now, between me and my son, affects more than just he and I, but also generations to come, strengthens my resolve to be the best dad I can possibly be. My greatest joy also being my greatest responsibility in life.
I'm glad you had fun Daniel....daddy did too!
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