What would the season be without a blog from me, the mother of many and a witch? As most people will contest, this time of year is about children and magic. And yes, the Wilen-Ridge household is full of both. We have been working diligently on costumes. This year, Claudia is performing the ultimate rite of passage; she is going as an Arby’s worker because yes, she is on the schedule. When she inquired as to why she had to work, she was reminded she is still childless and without a family. Now, it may be true that she has not moved from Maiden to Mother yet, but she is constantly surrounded by family. There are plenty of little sibling who need help with trick or treating and our decorations need putting up and there has to be someone to man the door for the neighborhood ghouls.
So, we are forced to put up the spider webs and string the lights by ourselves. I am teaching Camille and Deirdre how to sew and have put them in charge of making their own costumes this year. Camille is going as Sally Ragdoll and Deirdre, Sam, and Theo will be Shock, Lock, and Barrel, all from Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas. Before Claudia so solemnly announced her work schedule for the week, we had planned to outfit our home like Oogie Boogie’s house and Drew was going to costume as the honored. That kind of made me a bit nervous I would have to be Santa Claus, but thankfully it hasn’t come to that.
This holiday has been a bane to me throughout adulthood and motherhood. Like other witches, I believe it is a sacred time to honor our ancestors and mystical roots. But, I am not serious enough to condemn the commercialized aspect of Halloween because damn it, I like to have fun and I like to have fun with my kids. One of the things I have noticed in the last sixteen years is the lack of trick or treating and children’s fun. One could argue that our fear driven society is keeping them locked away that night. Perhaps not every mom and dad got the memo that the razor-bladed apple given out by the crazy little old lady is not true. Just check out Snopes. Don’t fret, I am not going to launch into a tirade about how those pesky Christians have taken the sacred feminine and reworked it into evil in an attempt to denounce what is our most solemn holiday.
This world has become a strange place where there is no extended family, just junior, Mom and Dad. Grandparents are not hanging around as they once did and we do not pay any attention to our Aunts and Uncles. I grew up like that, but my siblings and I were close. Both Jennifer and Michelle can attest to that. What I find the most disturbing about this generation is that even those who share the same parents, traveled through the same womb, live in the same house day after day no longer have family privileges. Does Claudia want to be with us for Halloween or as we call it, Samhain? I do not really know. She seems most disappointed that she has to miss Jake’s party. All I can I say is, “Welcome to adulthood, where you will never get All Hallow’s Eve off unless you demand it and present your case that Samhain is as sacred to you as Easter is to Christians, Hanukah is to Jews, and Ramadan is to Muslims”. But I am learning that my children will never understand this unless I demonstrate what I mean, so Drew and I are taking the day off and the kids are staying home from school.
