Happy Halloween.

Boo! Well, it is Halloween day at the homestead and after a morning of excitement over what the evening will bring we tried to settle everyone into their routine. With our son dressed as a scientist, youngest daughter as a cheerleader and oldest daughter as a pom pom girl we were ready to take on the day.

My wife first had to drop off our daughter who was volunteering at a local Monster Bash event for kids. Pay $3 per child and you get to play games, get candy, play more games, get more candy, etc. We then went to the Monster Bash for a couple hours with our younger children and had fun watching them play games like carrying fake brains on a wooden spoon across a line and back, toss rubber rats into black cauldrons and jump in bouncy houses. Overall, I think the kids really enjoyed it and they did get to fill there bags with more candy and little toys. Our oldest had a good time helping out at several of the games and I am proud of her showing her responsibility and wanting to volunteer.

The next step was to head to one of the Grandparents houses which we did for a short time so the kids could show off their costumes and spend a little time with their house. It also gave them a chance to rest and wind down a little after the "sugar effect". I also had driven through McDonald's on the way to get us all something to drink (diet cokes-no more sugar) and also a plain hamburgers/cheeseburgers to go around to fill the empty bellies. My thought was that even though this wasn't the best nutrition, that it would fill a little bit of their hunger and prevent them from bingeing on even more candy. It worked for the most part and they were not begging us for more candy on the way or in fact until we got back home later in the day.

Our local Trick or Treat times started early at 3:30pm and goes till 8:30pm. Yes, 3:30pm, actually about 3:35pm we had our first doorbell ring...back to this in a sec.

Back at the Grandparents house, our son hit the energy wall and his tank hit empty. He basically was laying on the floor almost asleep and we still had one more stop before heading home. Dragging him with us (literally), we made it back home and the kids got to get a little more to eat and relax or chill out a bit before wanting to head out for trick or treating.

Now at 3:35pm our door bell started ringing. We had talked about our plan for this year and decided to keep our blinds shut, front door closed and lights off. The kids had attended two big Halloween events and now were going to go Trick or Treating on our street which is probably about 40 homes. Our home was going to be a safe sanctuary this year and we were not going to pass out candy. The kids were fine with this too so that was the plan. Now since we have three dogs, we thought this would also be a good chance to desensitize them to the doorbell. What a great training opportunity, right? Believe it or not it actually works pretty well. Our doorbell must have rang about 30 times and since we were not getting up to run to the door, the dogs slowly followed our lead and continued to stay calm and not rush the door at the first sign of the doorbell ringing.

The three kids headed out the door and are on their way door to door on our street right now getting their bags filled with more chocolate, sugar, and various goodies. And again we will sort it out, keep a little for out kids (and a couple small pieces for mom and dad) and the rest will end up being brought to the wife's school or somewhere where it will be spread across tables and break rooms for anyone to take.

So, now the wait for the kids (oh, there is the doorbell again) to come home with their candy and all the stories of what they saw on their journey. Probably a piece or two (or ten) have already been eaten while they were out, but them out together and us trusting them to go alone for the first time this year on our street is worth more than one evening of mom and dad telling them they have had too much candy. Soon they will be back and we will be sorting the goods and starting the evening routine of showers and pj's.

As soon as another Halloween passes we will be off and rolling in four weeks to Thanksgiving and then four weeks to Christmas. The months at the end of the year really seem to fly by quickly as each month the focus shifts from one rushed holiday to the next. Why don't they tell you when you are young that the holidays are really fun when your a child, but become more rushed, require more planning and just become less fun as you age. Maybe this will change in time, but right now, I honestly could say for this year in 2009, that I wish the holiday hoopla of gift giving, cooking big meals, and all the extra "Stuff" didn't have to happen this year. Holidays really need to become less commercial and go back like they once were years ago. My thoughts are that they really are not about the gifts and presents but about family. Share a meal, fine. Go out of the way to cook all day and sometime multiple days to get everything ready seems like excess to me. Why can't the same conversation and socialization occur over sub sandwiches and pizza as over Turkey, Mashed Potatoes and all the fixings.

Sometimes I feel that I was once part of a much simpler life. Less stuff, less clutter, less stress, and less impact on people, the environment and life.

If you have read my earlier posts you know I love running, If not for the exercise, for the simplicity of the sport. Slip on shoes and head out the door. Turn right or left. Run in sunshine, in rain, in darkness, on paved trails, or on grass. It just doesn't matter. It can be as simple as you want it to be and works wonders on clearing your head of all of life's stress.

The kids are back with their bags and I probably need to get off the computer soon anyway. Tomorrow is an early day of volunteering at the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K race in downtown Chicago for CARA. I hope to support other runners their and encourage each of them on their journey to endure. I love motivating others to excel and helping them reach the goals they have set for themselves. This motivates me. Wow, I really ventured off the Halloween topic, but anyway it is how I feel and what I want others to know. I want to support their goals in life and know that their are plenty of others that want to support mine.

You can help support my goal of running my first marathon by making a donation to Hole in the Wall Camps. See the link on my blog page in the bottom right hand corner. Secondly, if you would like my support in helping you reach your goals, or if you simply would like to set a goal or resolution for yourself see why I became a certified Independent Beachbody Coach at www.getfitwithmouserunner.com

Tread Lightly,

Mouserunner
www.getfitwithmouserunner.com