Deja-Voodoo

This has all happened before. I can sense it. Perhaps last year? Maybe. Regardless of when, I am made aware of it again and again in all its horrific detail each time I step through the front door. "Happy Halloween" greets me cheerily on the porch, but then thumps against the door to my chagrin. The banging of wood on glass serves as a chilling reminder of things left undone.

The life sized skull stares at me with hollow eyes as I pass through the foyer. The hovering hoard of hanging bats flutter gently in the breeze generated by my walk to the fridge. The strings of spiders still cling to my island light fixture, blending neatly with what must be more than a few real ones by now.

The skull lanterns still hang menacingly in our picture window, painting a vivid picture to our neighbors of a family not ready to give up the ghost . . . so to speak. The orange lights still frame our stairs and front porch, adding an unworldly feel to any strangers approach. Hell (yes, hell), even this still smirks at us from an overlooking shelf, as if done with nefarious intent.

The Halloween decorations still adorn our humble home. It is Monday night as I write this and I had every intention of taking them down this past weekend. Really, I did. Didn't happen. Someone passing by might soon begin to suspect we are The Adams Family. Or perhaps even the Munsters (the dearth of sun here in Seattle leaves us all a bit on the pale side this time of year). My procrastination is shamelessly out there for everyone in the world to see.

However, anyone who doesn't read this blog, which pretty much means everyone who is not you, will get a different story. They will hear all about how we missed Halloween this year. And a Birthday as well. No Trick-0r-Treating, No costumes, No cake.

We are just making up for it. And I suspect we will be making up for it until next weekend as well.