Sunday, November 1, 2020

We Did a Drive Through What?!

Imagine a world where change was sudden and swift, and many of the norms you knew, became undone faster than the blink of an eye. I suppose you don't have to because that's what we have been living for almost this entire year. When the pandemic started, I kind of thought it would come and go, but here we are, November 1st, 2020, and we are still being grossly impacted by Covid-19. Why is this news? Well, it's not, but the drive-through trick-or-treating we did yesterday really hit home for me. No fancy costumes to parade around in, no kid-themed Halloween parties, no running into friends at the big community party, no bounce houses, no petting farm, no trick-or-treating door-to-door (or trunk to trunk), and so on and so forth.

At first, I thought we probably just wouldn't do anything at all, but then I reconsidered because traditions are one of the many concrete columns of childhood. So, we piled up in the car, my daughter and her family behind ours, and headed through the trick-or-treat drive through line being hosted in our city. The line to get in was longer than the line to get goodies, but the sentiment was still appreciated. Though they didn't put up their typical displays, they did have a few... and no, there weren't a lot of costumed people hilariously trying to maneuver in their costumes (ever see a dinosaur try to dance?) to the live music that was playing, but there was still a DJ cranking out tunes like "The Monster Mash." What would Halloween be without "The Monster Mash?"

The funny thing is, this was the first Halloween one of my granddaughters was old enough to enjoy, and she didn't give a hoot about the lack of normal tradition because to her it was of no consequence. People were handing her wrapped bags filled with goodies and she couldn't have been more delighted. I don't think she even knew there were sugary delights in the little bags, she was just thrilled to have things being handed to her through the car window, lolol.

My granddaughter has a way of reminding me that everything around us is fascinating, and can be easily enjoyed. In fact, her idea of being 'mad' is to give you a look (and boy, is it a look, and it is so very cute) if she cannot get her way about something, but then 15 seconds later, and literally it is 15 seconds, she has forgotten her angst and is laughing about something else going on around her. Like finding little flowers in the grass, or hearing her mom say, "I'm gonna get ya!" She is a delightful little peanut, and if the drive through trick-or-treating was good enough for her, then it was good enough for us.

Kudos to the local sheriff's office for always throwing a Halloween shindig for the kids. It was smaller than usual this year, much smaller, but that's not what matters. What matters is that they cared enough to do it at all. It's easy to throw in the towel and say, 'well, we'll do it next year.' But how do we know what will happen next year? If this year has taught us anything, it's that we don't. So, I've decided that we will be going all out for Thanksgiving and we will be going all out with our favorite Christmas traditions (or creating new ones as needed).  We are making a conscious effort to enjoy who and what we can in the moment, for the old saying, 'Who knows what tomorrow brings?' has never seemed to ring more true than it has this year. Happy November 1.

30 comments:

  1. Every thing seems so different now, but glad you went out still and enjoyed a night of trick or treating!

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  2. I never thought about doing drive-through trick-or-treating! What a great idea for the little ones to still enjoy the event.

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  3. That's great your city did that for the kids. Ours did nothing.
    Children know how to see the joy in everything, don't they?

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  4. I am very glad to hear that your community found a way to keep tradition alive. Kudos to the sheriff's office. We all need fun more than ever at the moment.

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  5. I think we really need to look to kids right now. People seem so bothered that they're "missing out" but I don't think kids feel this way at all. Maybe we all need to be as adaptable as them.

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  6. The government was telling communities to cancel halloween. I don't think that was necessary. There's a way to move on with life safely if we really want to care enough to try.
    I'm glad many continued in ways that were safe.

    I love how kids are and yes how quickly they forgive which is why God ask us to have the heart of children.
    They are amazing. And so much to teach.
    I"m so glad y'all got to enjoy something together in a new way and that the Sheriff kept it going you know. Keep people understanding that we do go on.

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  7. You are so right. How do we know what is there the year next. So even if we are in the pandemic and adopting the new normal, lets go with it and accept with positivity.

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  8. Coming from a country where we don't celebrate Halloween I always like to read theme stories. Makes me have a wider look into the world. Thanks for sharing this

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  9. time is indeed changing and actually they also did a similar thing on the village of my cousin's. Appreciating the effort behind who are making it all happened.

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  10. Everything's changed now, and most of the people in the community because cautious. But I still hope that we will surpassed this tough times, and enjoy a better life.

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  11. It's nice that you were able to celebrate and have fun on Halloween. We didn't go out but had a fun virtual Halloween celebration at home as well.

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  12. Hi Rosey - what a fun idea for one and all ... and yes your granddaughter has no idea of the traditions and treats ahead for her in her life ... wonderful you gathered the families and off you went. Excellent to read about ... I'm not sure what happened here ... but there were fireworks in one of the sports parks, which I could see in the background.

    All the best this week ... take care and stay safe - Hilary

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  13. We opted to stay home and have fun here, but this looks like a fun alternative! Glad you had fun!

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  14. I kind of wish I had access to this as a kid! Though I did enjoy traditional trick or treating. I'm sure kids enjoy it in any facet. I think we have to remember to be flexible!

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  15. It sure has been an unusual year, with no end in sight.

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  16. Yeah, you just never know how things will go. Can change from one minute to the next so have to enjoy things and try to stay germ free doing it.

    And the younger kiddos have no expectations indeed, so it can be made fun no matter what for them.

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  17. I think this year has been a shock to many people and I didn't expect the pandemic persisted for so long. Hopefully it will calm down soon in 2021, but still we will be going into a "new normal" - Knycx Journeying

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  18. Things are crazy, indeed, but I am glad you were still able to enjoy the holiday. I was shocked at how many people came to our house this year. I usually have less than 25 because we live on a court and nobody wants to walk down a dead end street. I was out of my box of full size bars within an hour (I think there were 30 in the box!) and had to dip into my own personal Reese's stash for the remainder of the evening. Even though Covid sucks, it makes me happy to see that we can safely still enjoy these long standing traditions even if it does look a little different than what we've done in the past.

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  19. Aaaahhhhh....how we have managed to wake up and live to this day beats me. We will overcome, at the end of the day!

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  20. This sounded like a fun way to celebrate Halloween. It’s different but still memorable

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  21. I’m so glad the sheriff’s office was able to make everything so special for the children. Kids really do have a special way of reminding us that everything around us is fascinating!

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  22. I love how your community was able to pull this one off. :( In my area, everything seems so different now. Really hoping for a better tomorrow :(

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  23. adapt, reinvent, be creative. This new group of youngins will see this year as normal in a few years.

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  24. Mama Maggie's KitchenNovember 4, 2020 at 12:43 AM

    This blog is really nice. Reading this made me smile especially on the Halloween shindig for the kids. It's nice for the kids to still enjoy the Holidays

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  25. Wow, the times have really changed. I am happy you guys were still able to have fun.

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  26. Drive through Trick or Treating sounds like a wonderful way to still enjoy Halloween despite how different this year has been. What a great way for your community to pull together.

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  27. What crazy times we are living in right? We did trick or treating here on Long Island normally around our neighborhood in the daylight hours. It was hours of fun and we just try to keep things as normal as possible at this point because I just can't with all of the crazy.

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  28. It really needs a lot of efforts on our part these days. And I agree that kids do show us wonderful things, they are indeed an inheritance from our Creator...

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  29. My granddaughter celebrated halloween too in her school but she is just 4 now :)

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  30. We shut our lights out, and watched spooky movies. Each boy got to pick one. Travis made tacos, and we canned tomatoes all day long. It ended up being fun.

    I heard a few having scavenger hunts for their littles. One girl thought it was the best Halloween ever.

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