Day: October 27, 2007

An Anime Rogue, Master Chief from Halo, A ninja sorceress, and a ninja spider all trooped over the the church building for our annual Halloween party. The Anime Rogue turned twelve this year, so she was among those running the booths rather than running from booth to booth. She still managed to arrive back home with a pile of goodies though. Master Chief was delighted that he was identified correctly and that his armor got compliments. The ninja sorceress reveled in being able to run at top speed, play games, and eat far more treat food than is usually allowed. Her favorite game was eating a powdered donut on a string, no hands allowed. The ninja spider shed his spider suit and headband fairly early in the evening. After that he was just Patches who ran and played games. After each game he would come to me and show me the prize.

Howard spent the time following kids around and talking animatedly with friends and neighbors. I sat collapsed in my chair and spoke about three sentences to people other than Howard. I was exhausted from a long role playing session just prior to the party. Howard has far more experience and endurance at being social all day long. All those conventions have trained him well. Even though I did not really socialize, I had fun watching everything and listening to the conversations of others.

We left the party fairly early. The kids had had sufficient fun and treats, so they didn’t fight too hard about going home. They’d had a long day too. But mostly their long day involved watching far too many movies while mom and dad and friends played upstairs. Once home, I set the kitchen to rights and then embarked upon a normal bedtime. It was good for all of us to step back into routine. Although I doubt my reading of Harry Potter was as energetic as usual. It is hard to find that energy, when all you want to do is lay your head on the table and sleep.

I am exhausted, but it is the kind of exhausted that follows a really long, really enjoyable day.