by Anne Brown

Created on: October 29, 2008

A CHICKEN POX HALLOWEEN

It was 1952 and all of us children were excited. Halloween was coming! Next to Christmas, this was our favorite time of the year.

My siblings and I searched to find items to make our costumes. Only rich people actually bought costumes in those days. The rest of us made our own, with the most popular being, ghost, farmers, ballerinas, nurses, an Indian, or cowboy/cowgirls.

As we sorted through different items to find the perfect ones, I began to feel ill. My head hurt and I was feverish.

"Mom, I don't feel too good," I told her.

"Here, let me see," she said touching my forehead. "Why honey, you're burning up. Let's give you some aspirin and get you into bed."

"But Mom, I have to make my costume," I whined.

"Don't worry, we'll get it done, but right now the place for you is bed," she insisted.

I grudgingly did as she said and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. It was dark when I work up and I was itching all over.

"Mom!" I shouted from my dark room.

"Laura, honey, what's wrong?" Mom said as she entered my room.

"I'm all itchy. Make it stop, Mom. Please, make it stop."

"Here, let me look," she said as she turned on the light. "Oh my! It looks like you've come down with more than a fever. If I'm not mistaken, this is the Chicken Pox. I heard they were going around. You must have picked them up from school. I guess all four of you will have them now," she sighed.

"I'll be better before Trick or Treat' time won't I? " I cried to her.

"I'm sorry honey, but I'm afraid you won't. You won't be going to school either. At least not until all the spots have dried up and that could take a couple of weeks," she told me.

I didn't mind the missed school so much, but no Trick or Treat'! No Halloween! No, it couldn't be! How would I ever survive? My second favorite time of the year and I would have to miss it. It was the worse news I'd heard in the whole eight years of my life.

But miss it I did. One by one, each of us came down with the pox. On Halloween night, my sister, two brothers and I sat at the window, pink spots of Calamine Lotion all over us. We watched as boys and girls decked out in their wonderful costumes, came to our door to collect candy in their pillow cases. Candy they would take home and devour, candy that none of us would get to taste. All we could do was pray Mom didn't give it all away and there was some left for her pitiful children with their sad, sad eyes.

I swear that was the worst Halloween of my life.

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