The celebration of Halloween was a great experience for me personally this year because I was able to see it through the eyes of Spiderman and Elmo. Both godsons were dressed as a good/bad spiderman (good-5 yr old/ bad-3 yr. old) while the two year old was Elmo. We had so much fun over these past two weeks celebrationg the fall festivities, eating a lot of candy and sweets, and having a race to knock on as many houses as possible both yesterday and today. This Halloween has been magical in experiencing the motivation of young children to explore the world positively, openly, and without any hesitation. My youngest nephew did not like trick-or-treating at the onset, but he was reinforced quickly based on B.F. Skinner's concept of operant conditioning. He realized that if he knocked on the door he would get candy and with little time at all he would knock, ask Mimi to "help, help, open, open" and he would eat one piece of candy between each house! I have never seen a young kid quite like this before, but could not stop laughing at what he was doing!
Halloween had some beautiful blissful moments of the heart. My oldest nephew told me that I am the "bestest and no one spoils me as much as you do." I have to say that I am a true kid at heart during the holiday season by running up and down the driveways in collecting as much candy as possible. While taking 200+ pictures on Sunday, it was so amazing to see their priceless expressions on their face that I will cherish forever! It was so much fun especially when these beautiful children look you straight in the eyes and tell you how much they love you (and of course, go right for the lips for a big smooch!). Halloween was a great appetizer for the rest of the holidays to follow. I can't wait to celebrate Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) and then, of course, the arrival of Santa.
I feel like I am on a writer's block over these past 48 hours, but thought I would include how technology has influenced the English language by adding words such as sexting, cyberbulling, woot, lol, and many more (New Words Added To Oxford Dictionary). Even though the computer has been around for decades, I think we have yet to see the true effects of exponential growth on our lives. We have changed so many things, but one day we may spend more time in the virtual land rather than the real-life arena. "Which is better?" you might ask. I think it is too early to tell, but I have to say I enjoy, welcome, and embrace personal contact with others. The laughs, the heartfelt connections, the bond between two people sharing a great moment along with a myriad of other things. Technology is a beautiful thing and helps make daily living easier, but the idea of going to a "virtual" restaurant vs. a real restaurant is still puzzling to me.
In summary, I am reminded to see life through a child's eye and to love every second of your life. Show love, enthusiasm, laughter, and most importantly, show your appreciation to those that go above and beyond for you! I think my Halloween is best represented as "Sweets for the Sweet." There has been a plethora of people in my life this week that have been nothing less, but sweet and exceptional!
Missy,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you had an awesome Halloween (and you have the photo proof)!
I do agree with you that one day we will look back on computers, cell phones and other tech gear as antiques. It's tough to predict and imagine what kind of technologies we will have in 50 years, but we can be sure that they will surpass what we have now.
-Susan