End of an Era

It has been a fiendishly long time since I have posted, for which I apologize.  There have been good meals to be sure, but alas they have not made their way to the blog.  I apologize for the absence and promise to do better as we approach the holidays.

Along the way, I want to welcome Patrick to the When Dad Cooks community.  Please check out his blog,  Duck Fat and Politics when you get a chance.  It's great fun and those of you who lurk in Minnesota (and I know who you are) might see local fare you recognize.

Anyway, Halloween came and went.  It is a vaguely food oriented holiday so a fitting topic here.  Halloween has been a big deal in this house since the kids were old enough to play dress up.  They have played many roles and I'll remember fondly so many of them.  A Disney princess.  Bob the Builder.  A black cat.  Spiderman.  Padme from Star Wars.  Inspector Clouseau.

And on and on.

My kids are teens or very nearly so now.  Trick or treating is not quite what it used to be.

The high school girl was not interested and made that known early with a simple "No" to the question.  She then went back to her homework.

Her younger brother tried to arrange something with a neighborhood buddy but it didn't work out.  He said his Halloween would be spent giving out candy at the door.  That would be sufficient.

Then, at about 7:30, after the first wave had come to the door, he came downstairs in an updated version of his Phantom of the Opera costume from a few years ago.  The mask still fit because we had made it from a hockey mask at the time.  The cape was nowhere near as long on him, but it worked.

"I just need some candy," he said.

Yes.  Right.  Nothing else besides that.  It's a sweet tooth thing, Dad.  Get over it.

"OK," BMW said, excited for the first time that evening.  "Get me some chocolate.  I don't care about the rest.  Get me some chocolate or you're not going to college."

My wife can be subtle some times.  This was not one of those times.

My son and I wandered the neighborhood for about a half hour.  We talked about Halloweens past and how a couple of the houses seemed scarier in previous years.  He had various theories about houses that would give good candy and conducted experiments against those hypotheses.

Eventually, he felt assured that his college education was secure and we returned home.  BMW and my daughter were sitting on the front porch with a big bowl of candy and study guide sheets for a test in some subject or another.  

The candy was easily divided and we settled in to watch a football game on TV.

Happy Halloween.