Happiness Moments: Halloween with my nephews

Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home… it’s your responsibility to love it, or change it. ~ Chuck Palahniuk

So a new little writing experiment for the blog. I’ve been wanting to find a way to do some free writing as practice. And I’ve been wanting to capture the moments in my life that have brought me true happiness. I need that little pick me up right now with everything going on in the world and no real chance to travel. So, some writing about happy moments in my life, hope they bring you a little happiness too.

During the last non-COVID Halloween, two years ago, I was able to attend Halloween in Brooklyn with my brother’s family.  Brooklyn, and particularly the neighborhood in Brooklyn Heights where my brother lives goes all out for Halloween.  Kane street is known for it’s famous impaled pumpkin fence. I actually got to speak with one of the owners while he was impaling some of the pumpkins, super nice guy and a really cool little tradition.

One of the reasons, beyond trick or treating with my young nephews, that I wanted to be there was that my brother’s neighborhood closes the streets to traffic and is literally inundated with thousands of trick or treating kids.  It’s glorious madness and is fully embraced by the neighborhood.

My little nephews were three and five and my brother and I took them into the madness of trick or treating in Brooklyn.  My older nephew had it all down, he knew what to say, he knew to hold out his basket, and to the thank people.  And even though he’s not the biggest guy, when there’s candy on the line he’s verbal and aggressive and fit right in with the scrum-like crowd of trick or treaters.

My younger nephew is not as verbal as his older brother.  Also being pretty young we had to explain the process.  Say trick or treat, hold out your basket, thank people and move on.  Two out of three was about where he maxed out, it was adorable, at times he’d hold out the basket and say thank you.  At other times he’d say trick or treat but not hold out his basket.  Being an adorable and seemingly a shy little guy people loved him.  At one stoop, where a mob of older kids just swallowed him up and shut him out, I had to air lift from the scrum and pull him out.  The lady waved at me, as the scrum passed she called him back and loaded him with candy.  At another stoop where he got the basket and thank you but forgot to say trick or treat a lady absolutely fell in love with him and gave him two huge handfuls of candy.  He even made eye contact with the lady on one quiet stoop and the lady called him over and loaded him up.  When we got over to her I realized she was actually an actress from a show I watch.

But without a doubt my favorite part of the night was walking down the street, him holding my hand, as my little nephew kept up a constant verbal description of everything we were seeing for two hours.  Look Uncle Mike a spider in a web, a purple pumpkin a witch and a broom.  He was on sensory overload and just had to describe everything.  I think my littlest nephew is going to be the next storyteller in our family, taking the baton from his uncle.  As soon as he got home he began relaying the full two hour description of everything to his mother.  It was a really special night, and one I had hoped to repeat this past year, here’s hoping for 2021.