Boo!

From the ever-increasing body of evidence the kids are growing up and need me less...

Tonight, they "ghosted" (or "booed," if you prefer) our neighbors, all by themselves. In the dark. No parents.

Ghosting/booing is the fun trick of filling two goody bags with Halloween goodies, along with a photocopy of a ghost and instructions for the recipients to fill two more goody bags and "ring and run" two other neighbors the next night. The idea is for them to answer the door but to find only the goodies as the ringers remain hidden out of sight.

Last year, as in the previous years, my husband or I went with them. They were too afraid of the dark to go alone. The girls needed help finding a quick hiding spot after ringing the neighbor's doorbell.

This year, we decided to start the chain in our neighborhood. My son accompanied me to the grocery store to buy the candy and inexpensive little trinkets. At home, the kids filled the baskets on their own. When it came time to "ghost" the neighbors, they refused to allow me to come along, though I expected to. "No!" they said. "You're too slow! You'll give us away." Darn crutches.

I suggested that I could wait in the car with the lights turned off so I could keep an eye on them. "No! They'll still see your car!"

I suggested that they could wait a night or two, until their dad came home from his trip. "No! We've got all the stuff tonight. We don't need to wait for him."

Off they went...

I just waited here...

They came home so excited! So proud! So eager to tell their stories of ring-and-run! And the chase that ensued after hitting one friend's house. And how they don't think they were seen, but they're not quite sure.

In the space of a ring-and-run, they grew up.