It is the morning after Halloween and the house is quiet, save the occasional whine or bark of one of the dogs. In the kitchen there are no plastic pumpkin pails or bright orange bags filled with candy. There are no empty wrappers for me to pick up off the floor, left strewn about by over zealous, over stuffed, sugar over-dosed, sweet-toothed children. There is no bountiful booty for me to secretly pick through, taking only my favorite bite sized Snickers and mini M&M packs from amidst the candy corn, goobers, jelly beans and assorted junk.
IS HEARTACHE BETTER THAN A TOOTHACHE?
This post Halloween morning I don’t have to worry about breaking my healthy eating habits by devouring countless chocolates until I am embarrassed by the sheer number of empty wrappers I have tossed into the trashcan. I have no such worries because all three of my kids are too old for Trick or Treating. They have long since outgrown the allure of knocking on neighbor’s doors with the pleasure and joy of knowing a sweet prize awaits at every walkway. As I look at a picture from a happy Halloween past, and see the happy little children who are now happy young adults I am reminded how fast and fleeting those magical moments of childhood truly are. I miss the days when a scary story held them rapt with fear and the belief that every word out of dad’s mouth was true, real and important.
RECOGNIZE THE SWEET SPOT…
Sure, I miss the candy (the calories, not so much), but I really miss the days when my kids were kids (and the parents were scared!)
How was your Halloween? I hope you have cherished the moments and recognize that the sweetest part of Halloween is not the candy… it is the shared fun you and your children can have together.
Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 20, Ethan, 18 and Olivia, 17). He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast. You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes! and Social Networking Rehab.
Photo Credit: Rick Sargeant – Fotolia.com
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=31e89b5a-8ed6-47cc-a4c9-0176782721de)
#
Oh that brought tears to my eyes! I have four two in the range of your brood and two on the other end of the spectrum. So I walk through this parenting adventure of the second two, or the littles as we call them, with the wisdom of how quickly it melts away. The bigs, or the big kids, are a different kind of experience. Sometimes joy and other times heartache as you try to navigate the waters of their coming adulthood. For me it is a hanging on tightly while trying to let go. It is an inevitable tension.
So I agree enjoy the time all of it–even the hard parts. Its the whole mix that makes up life’s great adventure. I love your story.
#
Oh that brought tears to my eyes! I have four two in the range of your brood and two on the other end of the spectrum. So I walk through this parenting adventure of the second two, or the littles as we call them, with the wisdom of how quickly it melts away. The bigs, or the big kids, are a different kind of experience. Sometimes joy and other times heartache as you try to navigate the waters of their coming adulthood. For me it is a hanging on tightly while trying to let go. It is an inevitable tension.
So I agree enjoy the time all of it–even the hard parts. Its the whole mix that makes up life’s great adventure. I love your story.
#
@Jbweb, it must be quite an adventure handling “the bigs” and “the littles” at the same time! As you say it is ALL good! Thanks for adding your perspective! (and I hope the “bigs” help you out with the “littles” from time to time too!)
#
@Jbweb, it must be quite an adventure handling “the bigs” and “the littles” at the same time! As you say it is ALL good! Thanks for adding your perspective! (and I hope the “bigs” help you out with the “littles” from time to time too!)
#
I had a case of the Halloween blues myself yesterday. My daughters are nearly 22 & 24 and the days of trick-or-treating are long past. I think I actually made more Halloween costumes for their crazy college parties, than when they were kids.
Yet, I did find last night a little sad….
#
I had a case of the Halloween blues myself yesterday. My daughters are nearly 22 & 24 and the days of trick-or-treating are long past. I think I actually made more Halloween costumes for their crazy college parties, than when they were kids.
Yet, I did find last night a little sad….