I’ve realized that as I’ve gotten older, I actually appreciate and enjoy Halloween a lot more than I did when I was younger. Maybe part of that is because Halloween wasn’t something my parents embraced. While other kids had fancy jack-o-lanterns with their cool stencils and cheap pumpkin cutting sets, my dad was cutting up our pumpkins with a big kitchen knife (that was so dangerous… and never to be repeated ever again). And when other kids got excited about their new costumes, homemade or not, each year, I had to pick one costume at kindergarten that was supposed to last me through my schooling (no matter that at age 10, I would very likely be much bigger than I would be at age 5…). All I remember of Ed is that he wore a Garfield mask a few years in a row when my dad would take us trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.

Halloween is one of those holidays that has appeal to almost everyone because it gives you the ability to be something or someone else for a day – and express your creativity in doing so. While I will not look forward to the cavities my future kids may get from all the freaking candy they will have gathered during their trick-or-treating, I will be excited to encourage their creative side in costuming up for Halloween and designing the most stunning and elaborate jack-o-lanterns possible. Ed would have enjoyed that.