There's a part of me that questions why exactly we need to start with the trick-or-treating well before Halloween. That's a Western PA thing, yinz, and it befuddles me even 17 years after I first moved here. There's another part of me, though, that knows better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. There's a tax collected around these parts and it's about 30% of what the girls snag when they trick-or-treat. Sooooo, maybe they should do as much of that as possible. Just maybe.
Mila agrees, by the way.
It took her a minute or two, but once she remembered that THIS is the holiday that involves strangers giving her candy, she was all in. Mila will do just about anything for candy. So far that has included dressing up in an old Cinderella costume and spending a day wandering around dressed like Rapunzel. Every time she started to seem like she might be pissed about the whole girly dress thing, candy appeared and she was like, "I AM HERE FOR THIS! HUZZAH!"
Mila really super likes Halloween. That's my point.
After spending the weekend collecting enough candy to nearly fill a pumpkin, Mila was pretty darn happy. She's living her best life right about now, and it shows.
Tonight I ran into the house to do my usual kid swap. I drop off a Mila in exchange for an Alexis because the Alexis has three hours of dance class and I don't need three hours of saving Mila from herself, so she gets to hang out with the other adult. In with one kid, out with the other, but then as I passed through the basement so that I could take Alexis to said dance classes, I saw her.
Mila.
Sitting on the couch in the Man Cave. She had her trick-or-treat pumpkin in her lap (because she is a ninja and can always manage to get these things in her hands). There was a whole pile of lollipops hanging out of her face. Candy wrappers were strewn all about. I'm not joking when I tell you that whatever happened came together in a matter of seconds. And Mila was SO happy about it.
"I'm good! I'll just stay here!" she said to me as she realized I could see her and her giant pile of candy.
"No, really! I'm good! See ya!" she continued before diving back into the pumpkin filled with candy.
Mila is SO Here for this Happy Halloween thing. SO here.