Halloween was about the fun.

Happy Halloween! Happy All Hollows Eve! I hope you all have a wonderful day whether you celebrate the holiday or not. I know that many people use Halloween as an excuse to cause trouble, but I prefer to keep a positive perspective.

Halloween was always about the fun when I was little. It was never about the candy, but I would be lying if I said that I didn’t love that part of it, too. For me, the fun was in dressing up in a costume and seeing my friends who were also in costume. I loved the parades we had at school where I got to see everyone’s costume by grade. That’s one of the many advantages to growing up in a small town with a small country school. We all fit in the gym at the same time.

Choosing a costume was easy when I was a small child. I wanted to be Wonder Woman. If Wonder Woman wasn’t available, I could be talked into being a princess or a witch, but my poor mom was forced to exhaust all costume retailers before I would settle for something else. I remember one year trying in vain to fit into the previous year’s costume to no avail.

One Halloween when I was six or seven years old, we had an early ice storm. Everything was covered in a beautiful layer of ice. Well, it was beautiful until I realized that icy conditions meant I couldn’t wear my Wonder Woman costume. Mom did her best to talk me into going as an Eskimo that year, but I wouldn’t hear of it. So, she drew stars on a pair of my blue pants and an eagle on a red shirt. She put the mask on my face and told me that I was Winter Wonder Woman. Even Amazons get cold. It made sense to me.

Trick-or-treating was a challenge that year. Most people in our small town assumed that the kids would be staying home that year. Not me. I wanted everyone to see Winter Wonder Woman. I am pretty sure that my mom actually carried me up to some of my neighbors’ doors because she was afraid I would fall. We only visited a few houses, but my jack-o-lantern treat bucket filled up fast. I think everyone probably gave me double my normal allotment.

I grew up in a time where people still made many of the treats they gave out. I remember receiving home-made brownies, cookies, chocolate dipped pretzels, and popcorn balls. Dorothy, who was my next door neighbor, made amazing popcorn balls every Halloween. They were my favorite treat. She added coloring and flavoring to them, so they were chewing, crunchy, and full of flavor all at the same time. I always had my choice of cherry or green apple. To this day, I crave popcorn balls every Halloween.

Today’s trick-or-treaters receive prepackaged candy that is completely sealed or it’s thrown out. Some parents even have their kids’ candy x-rayed for safety. We live in fearful times where caution cannot be overemphasized.

Halloween can still be fun, though. I look forward to seeing all of the costumes that come to my door this evening. I’m expecting to see Wonder Woman several times. Those kids may find a little extra chocolate in their buckets from one old Wonder Woman fan to the new generation of fans.

Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven. If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please subscribe to Ozarks Maven, Like Ozarks Maven on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter @OzarksMaven.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a coin or two.