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| Holiday another right of passage into adulthood |
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| Opinion | |||
| Written by Aaron Cedeño | |||
| Wednesday, 28 October 2009 08:00 | |||
The last time I really celebrated Halloween was in October of 1997.  I kind of can’t believe that was 12 years ago, but then again these days it seems like I’m being hit in the face almost daily with reminders of how much older I’m getting. Anyway, in October of 1997 I was 16 years old, having moved to my new home of Pittsburg, Kan., only a few months prior. Some of my new friends asked me if I wanted to go trick-or-treating, and despite my self-conscious reservations about being a little too old for that sort of thing, I cobbled together what I think was supposed to be some sort of “Rambo” costume out of some of my dad’s old military-issue clothing, and hit the town. As it turns out, “going trick-or-treating” is actually teenage speak for “costumed loitering.” I don’t think we knocked on a single door, but I had a great time anyway, just hanging out and wandering the streets of my new neighborhood. Well, this year it looks as if my 12-year hiatus will be coming to a close, as Halloween will once again be celebrated at the Cedeño house — though my wife and I won’t be donning costumes. After “Halloween on Broadway” in Louisburg on Friday night, Katie and I will spend Saturday night at home, handing out candy to the horde of Hannah Montanas and Optimus Primes that I know she’s hoping will stop by. It’s not that we haven’t made the effort before this. Even before we got married in 2007, we usually found ourselves spending Halloween together. Despite my feeble protestations — apartment complexes in a college town like Lawrence just didn’t seem like prime trick-or-treating territory — Katie would buy bag after bag of candy in preparation for a veritable onslaught of costumed youth. And, without fail, nary a single trick-or-treater would ring the doorbell. She would be momentarily crushed, until she realized that all of those Twix and Starburst candies now belonged to her and her alone. Her disappointment always disappeared under a tidal wave of sugar, and Halloween remained perhaps her favorite holiday. I’ve never been huge on it myself, but this year I find that I’m really looking forward to it. Halloween is unique among holidays here in the United States, even tossing aside the elaborate costumes and mountains of candy, in that the way we celebrate it undergoes a complete role reversal after a certain number of years. At some point, you become too old to dress up like Indiana Jones, at least in public, and become the one answering the door instead of knocking on it. I think the best part about it is that I remember the little rush I used to get, when I was trick-or-treating as a kid. Knocking on the door, not knowing what you might get, and returning home after dark, triumphant and with wind-reddened cheeks, to take stock of your haul for the year. This year, it’s going to be fun looking at Halloween from the giving end.
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