We were at a halloween party on the weekend, and good ol' Charlie Brown was playing as the outdoor feature film. While sitting in my lawn chair reliving my childhood, some frightening thoughts came to mind. I consider myself a "good" person in general, with many of the characteristics I would like to see in my own children, but wonder if they will surface given the current theme of child rearing. Thus, some observations:
1. All the characters symbolized a different type of personality which each had to try and get along in the cold, cruel world of childhood play: the bossy Lucy, the dreamer Linus, the bullied Charlie Brown, the stinky, unkempt PigPen, and the list goes on. Where are these characters now? Did Charlie Brown finally pull himself together or did become a teenage statistic? Did Lucy go on to rule her adult world, or submit to teenage pressures and hormones? Did Schroeder carry on with is talents? Did Linus carry on being easy going, or rebel? And pigpen . . . did he ever clue in and have a shower, or did he remain an eternal stinky guy? I had never thought about it before - the impact of their childhood behaviors on their futures . . .
2. When the rare "special" came on TV, before the era of TIVO and DVD, you arrange your night around being on time or missing the big event. On the rare occasion your timing was off or you had other engagements, life went on. You may have been disappointed and even had a tantrum, but you survived "missing out."
3. No parents where hovering around correcting behavior - Charlie Brown nearly broke his back AGAIN after being foiled by Lucy and her empty promises, Linus was called a block head numerous times and kids were left to go trick or treating as a group with no apparent fear of being abducted by crazy pervs.
4. Costumes were simple. The sheet ghost and maybe a tacky mask you could hardly see out of or breath from. There was no mega store to drag your parents too begging for the latest Disney character. Shoe polish on the face was acceptable. Raiding your parents closet was a staple for halloween garb. And halloween just wasn't halloween unless you got to stick your head in to a spit filled apple bobbing bin. (Gross!!)
I'm not questioning which is the better method, the past or the present, simply reflecting on how much things change in such a short time. In our house this year, we have a collection of spooky halloween movies, a purchased Cleopatra and firefighter costume (my little boy is politically correct at 4 yrs - "No mommy, it's not a fireMAN, it's a fireFIGHTER costume!") My children will be hovered over as they walk house to house, and I will continue to intervene when they are picking on each other or their friends - at least if I see and hear the infraction - as that is what is expected of me as a New Millennium Mom. Secretly though, I hope they both get put in their place every once in a while so a little cause an effect about reality kicks in . The Peanuts gang seemed to survive - I think.
