For years, the prelude to Halloween filled me with a quietly rising desperation.  As my neighbors gleefully decorated – and then decorated some more – for The Big Night, my kids began the litany of “when will we decorate, mom?” and “when will we put our costumes together?” and then again, “can we get cool decorations like them, mom?”

To be clear, I love Halloween.  I just never quite felt up to the task of meeting three kids’ excitement levels, which rose exponentially from the time they got home from school at 3 pm until the moment we began our sojourn of begging at just-before-sunset.  The rigors of trick or treating in a wheelchair, on barely-lit streets and root-churned sidewalks, are left to your imagination, but I will say that it was tricky (pun intended).

Even now, when I have no excuse for slacking off in preparation for The Night Kids Love, here is what my front door looks like the day before Halloween:  

My neighbors, on the other hand, have been hard at work for weeks:

My husband will be home at 9 pm tonight, just in time to throw together something festive. Thankfully, my kids no longer need my costume help or a chaperone.  I am free to relax at home on Halloween, greeting the slightly tense but oh-so-brave witches and monsters who ring my doorbell.

Even better?  Halloween is on a Friday night this year, so I stocked up on some pumpkin-flavored beer at our local Craft Beer Cellar – because it’s about time the adults around here took back Halloween (and take note, Keene, NH Pumpkin Festive Ruiners, we will do so responsibly!).

Craft Beer Cellar, Centre Street, Newton MA

Our local Craft Beer Cellar is fully wheelchair-accessible, with great ADA parking right out the back door.  They’ll even put together a selection for you and deliver to your house!  Plus, the sales guys are really into their beer and actually seemed to want to know what we thought of their selections, once they’ve all been tried out.

And don’t worry kids, I might have lame Halloween decorations, but I buy good candy.