After a change in her personal life, Lisa Liu Grady shares how she plans to navigate the upcoming holiday.
Life recently spun me in a new direction. My husband and I divorced, splitting in half the life that we spent decades building. I moved from a big house to a cozy apartment in a new town, just as my two children flew in opposite directions: my oldest to college, my youngest away to boarding school.
Formerly a stay-at-home mom, and now official empty nester, I find myself in a smaller, quieter world. It’s mid-October and I’m asking myself a question I never thought I’d ask: should I decorate for Halloween or not? The cardboard boxes of Halloween’s past made the move with me: giant fuzzy spiders, witty tombstones and old costumes that I still can’t bear to give away. They’re all stacked in the garage, waiting.
My old neighborhood was Halloween Central. Every October 31st, it was ground zero for trick-or-treaters with its wide well-lit sidewalks and spooky porch displays. My doorbell rang nonstop. My dog hated it, but I loved every second. I’d marvel at the nonstop parade of joy that led to my doorstep. The tiny toddlers too shy to say, “Trick or Treat,” the young families in matching outfits and the almost-too-old teens squeezing in one last year before retiring their costumes for good.
Every encounter started with a smile and ended with a polite thank you. Sometimes, I’d count 700 Halloween revelers by night’s end based upon how many Costco bags of candy I went through. But here? My new place with its unfortunate rear-facing front door isn’t exactly the warmest Halloween welcome. I honestly don’t even know if a single kid will show up.