Editor’s note: Karen Harris Tully is a writer who lives in Raymond and has agreed to keep a journal to share with Daily World readers during the odd and uncertain time we’re all navigating.
Dear Journal:
It’s Halloween! And we, for our family at least, are NOT cancelling, though we are modifying what we would normally do. For one thing, we have a macgyvered candy slide. It’s a piece of (unused) gutter we had lying around that Mike built a wooden stand for and I scrubbed and sanitized. It needs some decoration and a strand of lights next, maybe a skull, we’ll see. We usually get a ton of trick-or treaters at our house, I’d be expecting about 350 on a normal, non-rainy Halloween that falls on a Saturday. But, who knows how many we’ll get this year?
Our son is going as Harry Potter, and he looks exactly the part with his plastic wand and glasses. Our daughter had to be Harley Quinn (the kids cartoon version, not the movie version). Honestly, it fits her spunky, sassy spirit. I’m not sure I’m looking forward to her teen years, but she’s going to be a strong, independent woman, possibly with a bat. This year, thankfully it’s a blow-up hammer from the fair. I love them both to pieces. Reese’s Pieces (I had to do it).
Some friends have graciously invited us to their small farm for outdoor, masked shenanigans and I’m really looking forward to some time with a few (very few) friends. The kids will bob for apples in their own mixing bowls and they’ll get to pet the animals, a mini-fall festival. We’re not staying in. We’re not going to a big bash either. We’re doing our best to walk that line of having fun and living our lives, but modified for the reality of this time. Masked and distanced, not cancelled.
Now to think about my last-minute costume. If there’s ever a year for an amazing, fantastical mask, this is it.
Song of the Day: Monster Mash, Bobby Pickett
Karen Harris Tully is a novelist living in Raymond with her husband and two small children. She writes sci-fi/fantasy for teens and adults and can be found at www.karenharristully.com.
