Suit Up!

This is my favorite time of year. It should not come as a shock to those of you who know me, who roll your eyes as I exclaim on November 1, "Only 364 days until Halloween!"

October is a glorious month. It's filled with all the things that remind us Minnesotans why we live in this state. The weather is still relatively warm, but the days allow for that favorite sweater of yours to be close at hand. Bonfires aren't offensive, they are welcoming, yet you don't feel the urge to jump into the fire pit as you might in December. The AC has been turned off, but you don't need the heat on yet. You look in awe at your utility bill and wonder on what to spend the small fortune you are saving. It's okay to load up on all the wonderful food Fall has to offer: butternut squash, pumpkin, hearty soups; because you know you're going to need that extra padding to make it through the cold winter. I always ALWAYS listen to that voice in my head: "Go ahead fatty, have another helping" because I know it's for the greater good.

And then there is dressing up for Halloween. Does it get any better than that? To be a kid again, to fantasize and be someone else for the night. The hubby and I have a party every other year to celebrate the costumed kids in all of us. We used to have it every year, but the extent to which we prepare for the party drains us like we have just been paid a visit by Dracula himself. We still attend a Halloween party on our "off" years so as not to disrupt our carefully planned costumes. We never reveal what we are going to be to our guests, and we like it when they surprise us as well. The gathering of adults in crazy costumes is a sight to behold. It's amazing, the abandon with which people will express themselves to others they have just met; something they may not have done if it weren't for that pointy hat on their head or the pirate boots on their feet. And I love LOVE the creativity and off-the-wall humor of the costumes some of the guests have shown up in. We have two simple rules at our party: (1) Don't load up on alcohol and drive home, dummy; and (2) Suit up or else. If you don't show up in a costume, we will put one on you and you will be humiliated. We're not afraid to hand out humiliation. Oh no. Humiliation and sarcasm flow freely at our household.

Our party this year happens to be on November 1. All Saints Day. In case you're wondering: yes, it has occurred to me that I might get struck down for having a Halloween celebration on a day that commemorates Saints. If that indeed happens, I suppose it will make for a very memorable party. Fog machines, ghosts, ghouls, oh...and Katherine blew up. Fantastic.