Movin' On into New Routines

Change is in the air.  We're moving on down the tracks of the year 2019.  

From costumes to uniforms.

From one trick-or-treater to half a dozen.  

From outdoor sports (mostly) to indoor sports. 

From pastures to barnyards.

From thermostats to wood stove.

From dark at dawn to dark in the afternoon.

From October to November.

From elections to other elections---hmm, that never seems to change!

From thinkin' about ZAGS to watching ZAGS.

From Halloween straight to Christmas----say what?

Yup, 'twas a big change yesterday from one trip to Wal-Mart to another. 

My first visit to the local Supercenter involved picking up a couple of grocery items AND a sack of Halloween candy. 

Unlike other years when I hide the stash from Bill for at least a few weeks in advance, I waited until the last minute to purchase my Halloween candy.

My purchase:  a bag of Twix. 

When I poured the mini bars into the bowl, the supply seemed adequate to cover our usual trick or treating visitors. 

Last year we had ONE along with her mom.  Larissa, who's now in seventh grade, has come to our house on Halloween with her mom Leslie since her post-toddler days. 

Kinda fun listening to this young lady tell about the freedom of middle school, which, for her, involves walking to work on Wednesdays after school. Hard to believe that little girl now has a job.  And, she loves it too. 

Anywho, I figured Larissa and Leslie could indulge themselves on Twix and certainly there would be plenty more Twix bars for Bill to munch on in what in what is generally lightning-fast time.  

So, all was well with my trick-or-treating plan UNTIL the Taylor clan showed up around 5:30, long before Larissa was due on our deck. 

Let me tell you about the Taylor clan who have made a temporary move this past summer to the senior Taylor farm across the road. Eventually, they'll be living up the road from us. 

Peter (one of Bill's former Boy Scouts)  has retired from the Navy, and nowadays, I see Peter putzing by on the Taylor family John Deere.  

Peter has grown a beard since his high school days, AND it would be an understatement to reveal that his family has grown (in numbers) too. 

Peter and Jennifer have FIVE boys---count 'em FIVE boys, all engaging, active and very nice.

Amazingly, Jennifer, whom we met for the first time last night, is a pretty laid-back mom.  She says when the going gets tough with those five boys, she just sends 'em to bed. 

Well, it wasn't quite bed time when they showed up at our house and threw a giant kink into my prearranged "let Larissa and Leslie grab a few Twixes and then Bill can have at 'em" plan. 

These young men exhibited eager enthusiasm when I brought the bowl of candy outside where they were having a great time recreating around the yard while grownups visited. 

Once hands started digging in for Twixes and as I reminded them that we had at least one more trick or treater coming, I actually learned some new Halloween logic. 

Ya gotta get a candy bar for each hand, one of the five E's (yup, every name begins with "E"), said.  

I still didn't quite understand the wisdom behind that need to have a candy bar in both the left and right hand so I  simply accepted that two candy bars apiece was gonna be quite fine, as long as some were left for Larissa.

Talk about a CHANGE in the air in our Halloween regimen.  

First thing out of Bill's mouth when he saw those Twixes disappearing from the bowl:  better go back to Wal-Mart.

Strangely enough, I had been headed out the door to Wal-Mart for my eye-drop prescription just as the Taylor clan came into the driveway. 

So, I eventually excused myself and drove to the Supercenter.

This time just before walking to the Halloween candy display right inside the door, I stopped short to admire the Christmas tree which had been erected and decorated since my morning visit. 

That's when I started to worry.  

"Hope they haven't removed the Halloween candy," I thought to myself. 

Thankfully (yeah, gotta throw in Thanksgiving just cuz) the candy was still there.  I grabbed another bag of Nestle's Crunch bars, took it home and a couple of hours later, Leslie and Larissa showed up.

We enjoyed our annual visit, they took what candy they wanted AND Bill is now assured of his share of Nestle's bars and Twix. 

Could be gone by tonight. 

Anyway, Christmas is just around the corner.  We do the time change tomorrow, and we are already burning wood in the stove instead of turning up the thermostats.

Most important of all:  today is "uniform day."  I felt a tinge of excitement this morning, knowing that once again, after many months, I could don my GONZAGA long-sleeved T-shirt, just like the old days of high school when I loved red-and-white day where I could wear my pep uniform and not have to worry what to select from the closet. 

It's a good and welcome change of the many we'll see in the next several days.

So, bring on change and GO, ZAGS ---- 6 p.m. tonight tip-off with the men's team. 

Happy Friday.