Halloween was always favorite holiday for our family. I remember having Halloween parades in grammar school. One year Mom showed up at lunchtime to put on my makeup, creating the perfect gypsy girl with a little lipstick and a touch of blush. I had a blast strolling the playground sporting a long quilted dress, a bandanna wrapped around my head, and half a dozen of Mom’s chunky beads bouncing on my chest.
Mom didn’t sit out the fun! She dressed in a costume to greet the trick-or-treaters. Her go-to was a witch. She’d don a caftan in dark colors of black and purple and slip on a pair of pointy shoes. I remember the neighborhood kids rushed to our house because Mom was the only adult who dressed up. Now it’s common but not when I was a kid. She was playful with them, handing out chocolate candy and “casting spells.”
Much later when I was well into adulthood, Mom and I had a Halloween tradition of dressing up and going out for lunch or an early dinner. She stuck with her witch and I switched around – witch, gypsy, fairy. One year I was a flapper ghost in 1920s garb, a cloche hat and white makeup on my face.
Halloween always included a card. I have years of cards collected but this one from 2013 I’m sharing is my favorite. Because it’s unexpectedly pretty and elegant but I also appreciate the note Mom wrote inside.
Now at 90, she is losing her memory a bit and she can no longer buy cards or dress up but she still enjoys the holiday. I relive past spooky times by pulling out her cards and putting them up for display.
Mom as witch and me as flapper ghost, 1998.
We wish one and all a memory-making spooky Halloween.
