Memory Lane Friday - Halloween, Part I

This week's Memory Lane Friday topic is "Halloween, Part I." I'm going to relay a very early memory of mine. I can't believe I can remember this!

Back in 1972, when my parents and I lived in El Paso (where my grandparents spent nearly their whole lives), I vaguely remember a Halloween dressed up as a clown. This was the first Halloween memory that I have. I just remember snippets, though, just a few hazy "snapshots" of that evening's adventure.

But first, the costume. Apparently, my grandmother, Oma, made the costume herself.

 Here I am (with Oma in the background), in the costume she made for me:

"Halloween 1972" (in Oma's handwriting) is on the back of the photo. That means I was less than two weeks away from my second birthday.

I vaguely remember going out trick-or-treating with my cousin Monica, who was also dressed up as a clown. She was a number of years (4-5?) older than me. I'm not sure if Oma made Monica's costume, as well. But she might have.

Now, this particular Halloween evening, I really wasn't sure what was going on - especially since both Monica and I were dressed up in clown outfits. Do very young children really understand the concept of Halloween? I do remember feeling the festive atmosphere, though - that this was a fun adventure we were going on - even though I didn't quite understand the whole trick-or treat concept, yet.

Recently, I was talking to Oma and Naná about that long-ago Halloween. Naná was actually reminding me that Oma had made that costume, not knowing if I already knew this tidbit.

Also, Naná, who is  Monica's mother, recalled that I was so amazed at what was going on. She said I kept stealing glances at Monica, a very surprised look on my face: my eyes wide, my jaw practically hitting the ground. While Naná was recalling this memory to me, she had a huge smile on her face, and she kept chuckling. Must've been such a funny and cute thing for an adult to watch.

I'm assuming that Halloween 1972 was my first time trick-or-treating, but I'm not sure about this. I'll have to see if my mom remembers. 

And now, just because it's so incredibly cute, I'm going to finish this post with a photo of Livie's first Halloween costume (she was just about 8 months old):

 

Aww, Baby Liv as a Red Chile Pepper!

First, I thought this costume was SO cute for a baby. Second, I thought it was very appropriate, since we lived in New Mexico at the time.

Memory Lane Friday is hosted weekly by Two Bears Farm and the Three Cubs. Please click on the button below to view her Memory Lane Friday post. While you're there, please take a moment to read other bloggers who may have linked up their Memory Lane Friday posts.

Next week's theme is "A Spooky Story."