Tales from the Sofa: Happy Halloween

Eddie, Eli, Sage

Halloween has never really been one of my favorite holidays. Many of my friends like to get all dressed up and have Halloween parties. I have participated in a number of these over the years. Generally, I throw a costume together at the last minute. Halloween has been more fun since I had children. It is fun to get the kids dressed up and go trick-or-treating. But still, as a general rule, I much prefer Christmas and Thanksgiving.

But this year was different. This year, I SO looked forward to Halloween. Last year, I spent Halloween in a hospital. I did not get to take my son trick-or-treating. Eli and I were able to participate in the Halloween parade that the staff put on for the kids at the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital and I remain thankful to this day that we were invited to participate, but it just wasn't the same. Eli had to be brought to me by a friend and I had to be pushed in a wheelchair by a nurse while my friend helped Eli through the parade.

This year, I volunteered to organize the Halloween Party for the Mothers of Multiples Club, I had all of my kids' costumes picked out by the last week in September, and I arranged our trick-or-treating plans weeks in advance of the actual day. The party was a hit, and gave us an opportunity to get the girls dressed up in costume, as that was a morning event. Trick-or-treating was fun! The girls didn't quite make it, so Jesse brought them home, but Eli and I walked around our friends' neighborhood with their kids and another family. I still threw together a very last minute costume (literally, Amanda gave me some devil ears, a devil tail, and that pitchfork thing that the devil carries just before we walked out the door...thanks Amanda!) But how fun it was to take Eli door to door. To see his excitement as he ran up each driveway screaming "Trick or Treat!" It was a very cold night, but I couldn't have cared less.

So much I am thankful this year. My experiences last fall make me appreciate every second of my life and my children's lives. I still think of my time in the hospital almost daily. The worry, the discomfort, the fear. It was such a profound experience. I thank God every day for the way things turned out and I appreciate the smallest things, like trick-or-treating with my son, in a way that I took for granted before.