Pretend Trick-or-Treating

June 24, 1991
Monday
Salt Lake City, UT

I've driven across town to take Laura to an art class and while she's there brought Jasmine and Margret to a park. I'm watching them from the car where I sit with the door open feeling the sweet breeze and listening to bird twitters while Trina sleeps in her car seat.

I was thinking last night I ought to write but it was 1 a.m. when I went to bed. I used to keep up on kid quotes and events with a weekly generic letter but haven't done so since before Christmas and probably not since my job became full-time in September.

I spent some enjoyable moments with my girls last evening. (Steve was at work). They decided to play trick-or-treat. They got all dressed up and came pretend knocking at a pretend door at the edge of the kitchen where I was working. I had to ask them who they were for Halloween and then I dropped a handy trinket in their bag.

After three times I thought I'd make it more interesting for me by pretending I was a character in a fairy tale. First I pretended to be the witch in Hansel & Gretel. Laura didn't like this because it deviated from her script. She adjusted the game so SHE answered a door and gave "treats" at the top of the stairs. Jasmine was Sleeping Beauty carrying a doll she called a dwarf. Margret was Dorothy carrying a stuffed dog she called Toto. I gave "treats" downstairs.

I became one of the 3 Pigs--("You're not a wolf are you? I've just had a terrible time with a wolf."). Next I was Rapunzel--("I don't have a door and my granny has cut off my hair so I can't help you up and poked out my eyes so I can't see you but I'll drop you each a hanky I've stitched myself."). I became the ogre's wife from Jack and the Beanstalk--("Don't mind my husband mumbling in his sleep.").

Goldilocks was fun to do--("Look at this house I found with nobody in it and there were 3 bowls of icecream on the table that said 'eat me' and the big bowl was so hard it nearly bent the spoon and the middle-size bowl was like soup--yuk, and the little bowl was perfect so I ate it and then I came in here and sat of this big couch but it was hard and boring so I sat in that big soft chair but that was boring too so I sat in this neat little rocking chair & rockety rocked so hard I pretended it was a rocket blasting off for the moon but instead it just boke to pieces. I was just heading upstairs when you knocked. Wanna come? Oh, by the way, do you know who lives here? 3 Bears! Well, let's go--it's probably just beds upstairs anyway and I'm not tired.").

When I was Old MacDonald Toto the dog said "Bow-wow-wow" and the dwarf said, "Hi, how-are-ya?".

I became Snow White's wicked step-mother--("My what a pretty little girl you are. I hate pretty girls. I want to be the prettiest. Here, take this bright comb and put it in your long flowing hair. Oh my, another pretty little girl. I hate pretty girls. Here, come close. Let me have a close look at you. You remind me a lot of my little step-daughter who I ordered killed by my huntsman. What a dreadful memory seeing you brings to mind. Here, have a bite of this apple."). At this point I instructed Margret, who was Dorothy, to throw some pretend water on me and then I proceeded to squeel and squal and jerk and contrort lengthily as I melted.

What fun we all had.

I checked out a recording of bagpipes because Laura wondered what they sounded like and we all had a jolly time dancing and spinning and marching.