Halloween Whim Whams
My mom used to call the phenomenon of kids bouncing off the walls on Christmas and Halloween the “whim-whams,” and I can think of no more apt description for the behavior that Mimi and her friend Ani are exhibiting this evening.
A few minutes ago, they were holding arms and jumping up and down while yelling “It’s dark! It’s dark!” even though it was barely crepuscular outside.
And I type currently, Mimi has her Headless Horseman costume on and is preparing to head out for the big candy foray; although she is thrilled at the prospect of a head full of sweets, I think she’s more into the acquisition of goodies than the actual consumption of them.
Fourth grade may be about the pinnacle of the Halloween experience. You’re big enough to be able to handle the whole thing and not be scared by other kids on the street, but still young enough to find the experience pretty magical: you dress up in costume, go around to people’s houses, and they give you stuff!
I went as the Mummy when I was nine; my wrapping, though, was made of toilet paper, so when we got the inevitable Halloween night rain shower in Pittsburgh, the whole thing melted away. I remember not being too terribly upset by that; I just put some dirt on my face, threw on a flannel shirt, and went as a bum.
Jeff Wilcox and I stayed out till something like 9:30; we could barely carry our pillowcases full of loot home.
The world is a somewhat different place these days; I can’t imagine letting Mimi roam the streets by herself like we did; Jen and I will tag-team chaperoning the kids. My favorite part of that is having the opportunity to snoop into the houses of people in the neighborhood.
I find the prospect of that relatively appealing; it’s not nearly thrilling enough to give me a good case of the whim-whams, though.
A few minutes ago, they were holding arms and jumping up and down while yelling “It’s dark! It’s dark!” even though it was barely crepuscular outside.
And I type currently, Mimi has her Headless Horseman costume on and is preparing to head out for the big candy foray; although she is thrilled at the prospect of a head full of sweets, I think she’s more into the acquisition of goodies than the actual consumption of them.
Fourth grade may be about the pinnacle of the Halloween experience. You’re big enough to be able to handle the whole thing and not be scared by other kids on the street, but still young enough to find the experience pretty magical: you dress up in costume, go around to people’s houses, and they give you stuff!
I went as the Mummy when I was nine; my wrapping, though, was made of toilet paper, so when we got the inevitable Halloween night rain shower in Pittsburgh, the whole thing melted away. I remember not being too terribly upset by that; I just put some dirt on my face, threw on a flannel shirt, and went as a bum.
Jeff Wilcox and I stayed out till something like 9:30; we could barely carry our pillowcases full of loot home.
The world is a somewhat different place these days; I can’t imagine letting Mimi roam the streets by herself like we did; Jen and I will tag-team chaperoning the kids. My favorite part of that is having the opportunity to snoop into the houses of people in the neighborhood.
I find the prospect of that relatively appealing; it’s not nearly thrilling enough to give me a good case of the whim-whams, though.
posted by Professor Dave at 6:19 PM
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