Oct 26, 2015 3 min read

Halloween seems like it already passed at my house. Trick or treat in our neighboring town took place Sunday afternoon, and the annual gathering at our house was Saturday night. Within 12 hours of the party’s end, the cleanup was finished, and the decorations were put away at the same time the trash was taken out. It’s how I roll.

I love the deep cleaning that occurs in advance of the decorating, though. Furniture is moved to accommodate chairs and people, and cobwebs and dust are removed when found. I sometimes wish we partied more often, just for the desire to scrub things down that a party creates.

That decorating part troubles me some, though, as it causes a lot of clutter. Having spiders and bats and ghouls (oh my) hanging from doorways and light fixtures gets on my nerves. Something about ducking under caution tape in my own home is disconcerting, I guess.

But once the party is underway, all those troubles are forgotten as we laugh and joke and talk the night away. This year, Frankenstein, a crayon, two Batgirls and even a scarecrow showed up to eat, drink and be merry. I failed to procure a new costume in time and was required to dust off my go-to witch outfit.

Apparently, I have spent too much time eating, drinking and being merry since the last time I wore it, as the tights were oh-so-tight and the dress was also quite snug. Or, perhaps the costume shrunk. Yeah, I’ll go with that one. Either way, I looked like I had shoved a pound of sausage into a half-pound casing.

It was not pretty, my pretties.

I decided to cover up my spare tire by adding a cape to the costume. That worked, though nothing could help those tights. First a tiny line appeared on one stocking, followed by another. Soon, the runs outnumbered the stripes on the tights, and then there was no way to hike them back up when they started to sag. Finally, I had to ditch them. Pale legs then stuck out from under the jet-black dress and cape. Shortly thereafter, I changed into jeans and a T-shirt. It’s my party, I’ll change if I want to.

The rain and cold weather put only a slight damper on the festivities, as our standard bonfire couldn’t happen. Instead, we hung out mainly in my kitchen and dining room, heating up the house despite the furnace being turned off and the windows being cracked open.

Most of the guests have known each other for decades, and the new folks are welcomed right into the mix. This means there is no need for extraneous games or contests. These people just meld together, crack jokes and the fun happens. It is the best part of the party.

A very close second to the best part is cleaning when it’s over. I know it sounds crazy, but I love to have it all cleaned up and put away. There is something satisfying about it being done and over for another year. Although, everyone else’s insistence Halloween is still to come throws me for a loop.

Laura Zoeller can be reached at zoeller5@verizon.net.