Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Skeleton Crew

On Halloween, my office hosts a parade for the kids and grandkids of emplyees. At the end of the day, the kids march up and down the cubicle aisles "trick-or-treating".
 

 
After work, we had a quick dinner and readied ourselves to head out to trick-or-treat. In years passed, I almost always had Lisa, Theo's mom, accompany me as we went house to house. The kids were little, Theo was unavailable due to coaching duties, and I needed help managing everyone and keeping track of things. Even as the kids got bigger, Lisa still came with us to maintain the tradition. We were quite a crowd cruising the streets of Page.
 
Here in Amarillo, things have changed for many reasons. The obvious distance has kept grandma Martin from joining us. Theo, no longer a coach, is finally able to be home during the candy gathering hours. But most changed are the boys themselves. Drake stopped trick-or-treating a couple of years ago, and Corbin last year stayed home as well. This year Bowen and Rex were planning to go out together, but a lingering stomach bug kept Bowen home from school all week. It was going to be just Rex and Theo and I. Weird.
 
We strolled the streets of our neighborhood together at a relatively lesuirley pace. The weather was unseasonably warm, and the winds were unusually calm. It was a lovely night. Rex got a great haul, and even set aside candy for Bowen. Our crew is growing up.