The year I was actually Batman

And other favorite Halloween memories

Special thanks once again to rojie for today’s prompt. if you haven’t done so already, definitely check out her blog justrojie.com.

If you celebrate Halloween, describe your favorite Halloween experience. If you don’t celebrate, describe what your night is like.

Halloween is my absolute favorite “holiday” of the entire year. Unlike Christmas, there’s very little stress involved. You buy some candy, maybe throw on a costume, and just have fun. I actually wrote about this in detail a while back in a post called “Every Day is Halloween.”

I’ve had a lot of great Halloween experiences over the years. As a kid in elementary school, on Halloween—or as close to the 31st as we could get—we’d have a day where everyone wore costumes and marched in a “Halloween parade” around the building. We’d walk through the hallways and pop into different classrooms so everybody could see each other’s outfits, and the teachers always had treats ready for us as we passed by. It was such a great time.

As I got a little older, trick-or-treating became all about collecting as much candy as humanly possible. The funny thing is, we were usually only outside for an hour to an hour and a half tops. To this day, I still can’t fully conceptualize how we managed to haul in that much candy in such a short amount of time.

As a teenager, I didn’t do much on Halloween night other than work at the local mall, which held an indoor trick-or-treat event where kids went store-to-store in costume. At the time, I think I was working at Arby’s. I’d dress up, hand out candy to the kids, and get paid for it!

Finally, as an adult, things came full circle. I got to take my own kids trick-or-treating and keep the cycle going. Over the last few years, I’ve also taken my turn staying behind to hand out candy at the door. But after my divorce, I started attending grown-up Halloween parties—where we didn’t just dress up, but in some cases spent a serious amount of money on our outfits. Costume contests at adult parties are big business; I’ve been to events with grand prizes of $500, and even one with a $5,000 top prize.

The High-Stakes Costume

Speaking of those contests, I actually entered one of them myself—I think the grand prize was $500. I went as Darth Maul from Star Wars, and it was by far the most elaborate costume I’ve ever attempted. The final product turned out incredible, and I was so proud of how it all came together.

The Batman & Robin Moment

While the Darth Maul outfit was technically the best, another costume holds the crown for my favorite memory. One year, when Kid 2 was about four years old, we dug out a Robin costume we’d bought the year before. Naturally, I went out and got myself a Batman suit so we could hit the neighborhood as the Dynamic Duo.

You know how people see you in a costume and just address you as the character? All night long, people were shouting, “Hey, Batman!” As a grown man standing out on the sidewalk in full gear next to my little Robin, there was a fleeting moment where I actually felt like Batman. It remains one of the best Halloween experiences of my life.

Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Having crossed the 1,000-day milestone, I’m now charting the territory beyond. The mission remains the same: No glitz. Just the work. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint and the ‘Tricorder’ perspective behind the rebuild.

Today’s post is inspired by the WordPress Daily Prompt. While I’ve taken the topic in my own direction for the Road beyond 1,000 Days, you can find more responses to today’s prompt HERE.

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The article “The Year I Was Actually Batman (and other favorite Halloween memories)” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.

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