Small Presents And A Melancholy Halloween

Believe it or not, I’m not much of a present person. It’s pretty hard to get me to give “you” a list for my birthday or a holiday. Oftentimes, my family hates the things I ask for so I always say, 

“Get me something you’d like for me to have.” 

"Oh, come on! You must want something!" 

"Spend time with me."

"That's it?"

"Yep!"

Then they groan (a lot). 

I suppose I'm not making it easy for them but, in reality, I am. I'm really pretty simple.

My favorite gifts? Little things. Those that come in small packages and I don’t mean the “little blue box” because I don’t really wear jewelry. I love pictures and letters and books the most.

Yesterday, I received the most timely gift from my BFF, “sister from another mister”, knows me like the back of her hand, girlfriend.

She came upon this picture and walked it over to my house (she lives one block over). It's a picture of Matthew from Kindergarten. He’s the blonde in the forefront. 

I can see the trim job he gave his bangs while I was somewhere else (bad mommy!). That kid he’s with became the biggest bully in the whole grade school and his bangs got “trimmed” in the same incident. Still sorry Robin!

The funny thing about this particular picture is that my friend's son, same age, wasn’t even in Matt’s class. I have no idea why she would have taken it but I’m glad she did so she could come across it yesterday and bring back a fond memory for me exactly when I needed one.

Halloween was a little melancholy for me. My husband left for a golf trip leaving me home alone (YIKES!!!) on the creepiest day of the year (why would he do that?), my kids are away at school, and the cutest ghosts, goblins, ninjas, football players and cheerleaders paraded across my porch.

My kids used to dress up like all those things. 

I used to dress up in giant hair rollers, robe and slippers pretending that I forgot it was Halloween and that the ringing doorbell woke me up from my nap (so I can act!). When they got older, sometimes my costumes embarrassed them like the one with the pink beehive wig, which by the way, is used at college now.

And the year this picture was taken, I’m pretty sure Matt was in his Power Ranger stage, which went on through 3^rd grade. He, then, rode out the rest of his trick or treating days as a football player.

I wonder what he was last night. 

I know his sister was a pirate.

I miss all that.

And I miss them.

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