This was the first year the porch light was on at the Schmidt house, and it rocked my oldest daughter's world. So I sat on my porch steps (it was such a nice evening) talking to Anne on my cell phone and explaining why, after 25 years, we were passing out Halloween candy. I would interrupt our call every couple of minutes to greet Spiderman or various princesses who came calling.
For about two hours I greeted children and parents, admired costumes, joked about dental bills, and offered candy to older siblings who were walking with their families. It was a very pleasant and relaxing evening.
Being on the border of the city of Detroit, most of our Trick or Treaters are driven in from other neighborhoods, and so I didn't meet many of my local neighbors. The folks I saw I won't likely see again, until maybe next year, if they liked my candy, and yes, it was the good stuff.
As I tried to explain to Anne, this was less about Halloween, and more about people, just being friendly to people. By the time we hung up I think she had an idea of how sitting on my front porch giving out candy and smiles might be something Jesus would do.
What about you? What did you do on Halloween?
>Mom and I set up a table on our front steps, with a sign in front of cider and donuts that said "Parents need treats, too!" Candy was given out to many pirates, princesses and scary maskes, but even sweeter was the opportunity to meet neighbors and families out enjoying the weather. It was a blast!
ReplyDelete>I passed out candy on Wednesday night just like I do every year. My story is about stepping out of my comfort zone in a different way. It actually happened on Saturday evening when I agreed to drive Tim and a group of his friends to a haunted house. Now, I don't really think much of haunted houses, but as the weather was sort of rainy early in the day I agreed to drive with the understanding that we would be leaving about 7:30 p.m. As the day went on, the departure time was changed to 9:30 p.m. (lol, past my Saturday night bed time), but trying to be a good sport and concerned for Tim's safety, I re-affirmed that I would indeed be a driver. The planning for this event was directed by two high school boys so let's just say that the whole timeframe was a little loose. There were several cars and about 20 kids involved. We finally departed for the haunted house in Pontiac at 10:45. In my van were Tim and 3 boys and two girls. The trip to Pontiac was fun, and I enjoyed the banter as the kids talked and joked and as they "rapped" along with the very LOUD music. Upon our arrival, we found out the wait in line for the haunted house was one and a half hours and the tour itself was another 30 minutes. Being a good sport, I wished the kids well and settled in to read a good book while waiting. The kids returned at 1:00 a.m. and we were off back home. On the return trip there was a bit of a debate about who was getting up to attend church in the morning and it gave me a small opportunity to start to hear the stories and background of these students. Finally, at 2:15 a.m. the last student was pick-up and Tim and I returned home. I had anticipated that this would be a chore, and yet I felt honored and blessed to have been asked by my 16 year old son to spend the evening with his friends, and truly benefitted from getting to know them all a little better. Blessings in strnge ways and strange places.
ReplyDelete>We have few trick or treaters on our street so we gave candy out to only 8 or so kids. But my "walk across" story has to do with a phone call to a friend and former neighbor who used to live across the street from us. When he answered the phone, I suggested he and I find some kids to take out since our children were now past that stage of life. (He and I, my our 2 and his 2 spent many a Halloween accompanying the children on the journey and being, well, neighbors.) I told him I missed those days and he said did too. We reminisced a little and then he told me he's been meaning to call me to thank me for inviting him to Men's Fraternity. He said he can't come for various reasons he gave but was very touched and honored that I wrote his a personal note to invite him. We talked a little more about the program and I invited him again to drop by anytime. The crazy thing is, he was one of 12 guys I invited and the one I was most nervous about - thinking I might offend him. So, Halloween has been one context of our friendship and a call to him this Halloween provided an avenue for a spiritual conversation. Go figure.
ReplyDelete>I ran around our neighborhood with my kids and got to meet some folks that I have been DYING to meet--See for the last 3 years I've noticed this car about 9 houses down the road that has a big old Chicago Cubs emblem on the back of their car. I finally got to meet him and discovered that he and I grew up at rival high schools in the Chicago area. But what we hold in common is our love of the Chicago Bears and we both suffered various forms of persecution from Lions fans this past week. We also made a plan that we would get together to watch the Bears or the Bulls in the near future and eat some deep dish Chicago pizza! I love developing friendships around Chicago sports!
ReplyDelete>Thanks to the Internet, we celebrated Halloween in Norway! Our Friend Hege, who lives in Oslo, sent lots of pictures of her two little girls going door to door in their costumes, pumpkin buckets in hand. She even sent an e-card with a big jack-o-lantern -- all in Norwegian except for "Trick or Treat." I had no idea that our American tradition had made it to Scandinavia. I guess kids, costumes and candy is just a very compelling combination. We've known Hege since she married our good friend fifteen years ago. She's a recent widow now and still very resistant to the gospel. So even though we "don't get out much," we can walk across an ocean to stay in touch and involved with our friend. Pretty neat.
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