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Little different when Halloween finally rolled around this year! No little ones at my door, nor no little ones to take around the neighbourhood for hours. Boy, but I do remember those days when my kids were a little younger and all eager to go out for shell out!

The neighbourhood was a little different back then, and the economy was not as bad as it is now. Through the years, many people have moved on. Gone are the big developments, replaced by winding roads with lots of side streets. Old familiar places and faces have changed as well.

But, boy do I remember! Making the costumes by hand and carving the pumpkins the night before. Even back then, it was cold, so cold that you could almost see frost when you talked. But that did not matter. Dinner was at 5 and the kids quickly donned their outfits, I grabbed the buggy and a large cup of tea or coffee and headed out the door. The older kids liked to sometimes stay at home while my youngest and I, dragged the buggy for about 4 hours, through the streets. We must have hit every house in the surrounding area as well as some small shops. A friend that used to live close by, used to also go out with us, along with her four kids. My youngest would walk for hours for not only the Halloween goodies, but to see all the magic and splendor of the costumes that everyone wore.

We usually set out around 5.30 and never arrived home before 11.30 and often were almost frozen by the time we made it home. The older kids used to wait patiently as all the candies were checked. And man, there were lots! Bags and bags of goodies of all sorts! The candies usually lasted until Christmas, sometimes even longer. Of course, the ones that the kids did not like were passed off to their friends or us.

There were no knocks on my door tonight, nor were there no little ones to take outside. But I sure remember with fondness, when my little one would say, in her proudest, and loudest voice, when asked, “Where did you both get to, that took you this long to return”. She would pipe up and exclaim, “Me and Mom went all over the world”. Aww… such fond memories of days gone by in my childhood and when my kids were small.