I remember our first Halloween after moving into our house. It was 1998 and Jaclyn was not quite 3 years old. We had just moved in the previous summer after living in an apartment in Manhattan. Going door to door was a different experience.

We dressed up, she was a Pirate that year and it was a beautiful day.

I remember two things very vividly about that day.

We had to teach my daughter how to trick-or-treat. We learned quickly that her plan was to consume her bounty at every stop. Trust me, she picked up the skill quickly.

But perhaps my most vivid memory of our first Long Island Halloween was the swarm of young children that took over the streets around 3 pm. We knew that there were many young families in our neighborhood when we moved in but I don’t think we truly understood how many until Halloween.

Happy Halloween everyone.