Why THIS Halloween is Different

Enjoy this Halloween because this year it’s different. Take some extra time to breathe in the cool and crisp night air. Take some extra time to snap selfies with you and your kids in costume. Take some extra time to “sample” all of their candy.

Enjoy this Halloween because this year it’s different.

Halloween is on a Saturday this year. This is big. For the majority of parents, it means for ONCE we don’t need to rush home from work, or in my case, rush back to work afterward. For once, the kids don’t need to rush home for sleep because there’s school the next day. For once, WE don’t need to rush home for sleep. It’s Saturday. It’s the weekend. It’s Halloween.

So enjoy this Halloween because this year it’s different.

And BONUS: This year Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday morning. This means we turn the clocks back and our weekend is an extra hour long. It means Saturday can go a little bit longer and you’ll still get some sleep before the kids wake you up early the next morning. All of this means the stars are in alignment for us to enjoy this one day with our kids.

So enjoy this Halloween because this year it’s different.

Some of you might still be asking, “So what’s the big deal. Halloween is on a weekend next year too… Right???” Wrong. NEXT year is Leap Year. The calendar gains an extra day throwing everything off. So instead of being on Sunday in 2016, Halloween will be on Monday. Yuck. Still not convinced this Halloween is a special one? The next time we get Halloween on a weekend will be 2020. My older gal will be 15. I doubt she’s gonna wanna trick-or-treat with mom and dad.

So I’m gonna enjoy this Halloween because this year it’s different.

Let’s face it, childhood goes by in a flash. They’ll be our kids forever, but they won’t be little for long. And sometimes it’s good to remind ourselves of that. So get out this weekend, dress up, have fun, have the time of your lives as a family. Don’t worry about what time it is. Don’t worry about where you need to be tomorrow. Get home, dump out your candy, trade with each other and have a blast. Tuck your kids into bed, as they think about all the fun they had. And sometime down the road, look back with love and remember the time Halloween fell on a Saturday and it was awesome.

So enjoy this Halloween because this year it’s different.

Pete Wilgoren is an Emmy award winning journalist who writes about his often surprising, embarrassing, and educational experiences surrounded by a wife and two little girls. Find Dadmissions on Facebook and on his blog Dadmissions.