You Called Me Fat & Shamed Me, Now You'd Sell Your Soul To Fuck Me: Halloween Fun & Leaning On Your People (Revisited)

Flavor of the Day: Ray's Lemonade, Huckleberry Flavor

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Halloween week (remember, this is a revisited article, so even though it's June when you see this, I wrote this in October.). I would love to see what you all dressed up as. I was a slutty witch that apparently left a trail of glitter wherever I went. After a couple weeks of dealing with depression and fibro pain, I was able to get out of my funk to enjoy Halloweentown and, a week later, go to an annual party and then have some fun chill time watching Rocky Horror Picture Show with VOR, who I've been trying to talk into watching with me for years, as Halloween is our thing. RHPS is a must for me every year.

As you know, I've been quiet, and I've been living in my cave, trying to emerge as little as possible because I felt anxious and down for no reason. I had no motivation to write or be productive. That's the thing with mental health: you don't always need a reason; sometimes, your body or mind just can't handle whatever you're going through. I spent the days coming up to certain events just wanting to throw up and cancel plans because I literally just didn't want to do anything or be around anyone unless it was in my safe place, my home.

Last weekend though, ND, my nephew, Daughter, & I FINALLY took my much-anticipated trip to Halloweentown (St. Helen's, OR) where they shot most of Disney's Halloweentown and some parts of the Twilight movie, which was a pleasant surprise to me. The drive to and from was breathtaking, with all of the beautiful fall colors on nature's display. There were a bunch of fun vendors, amazing costumes, lots of dogs to pet, and fun pictures to take. We waited in a long line for an Oddity Museum, which was kinda fun, and an Alien exhibit, which was a tad disappointing, but I would have kept wondering about it, if I didn't go in. I even got a chance to see Phillip Van Dyke from afar, the guy who played Luke in Halloweentown (and who I had a crush on in the 90s), but I was way too shy to say hi or get a picture. (I did reach out to him on IG @phillvandyke because I was still fan-girling & he responded, which made my day!)

I enjoyed my childhood dreams coming true with my childhood best friend, ND. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect friend to join me since we've been friends since Kindergarten & have always called one another's parents "Mom & Dad," and we were able to enjoy the experience with two of our kiddos. Sadly, LXI couldn't come because she's a responsible adult now and had to work, but we may just have to go again, so she can experience the fun. Next time, we will probably go through the haunted house when people are actually being scared. (this time, we went too early in the day) I'm not sure how well I can handle actually being scared by people since a prop flew out behind a fence, and I karate-chopped the fence as my automatic reaction. I did scare everyone in the group, so they were able to have a little of the haunted house experience, I'm thoughtful like that.

We walked a huge hill and searched for what the map showed as Aggie Cromwell's house, but couldn't find it. We did, however, find a cute cat that we all wanted to bring home. The houses in St. Helen's were all houses that I wish I could just go inside and take a look at because of how old and beautiful they were.

The week coming up to Halloween was uneventful; I picked up OM's ashes, as we lost him on 10/4/2021, and it still hasn't hit me that he's no longer a part of our lives. The vet did a beautiful job memorializing him with a stamped pawprint, a pawprint in some clay, and his ashes. Even with his ashes close by, I still keep going to give him snacks or call him from outside, waiting for him to follow me. Only to remember that he's no longer with us. He was the best dog one could ask for and lived a long and happy life.

Saturday, I went with/ LYD to watch my nephew win his playoff game; next up, Superbowl!! Also, it was a friend's annual Halloween party, which is always fun. I was able to go early and get ready, help others get ready, and just enjoy spending time with a few people before any craziness started. I had a great time, and I always love seeing all of the Halloween costumes. My friend and her man do a couple's costume & look phenomenal every year. The house of dolls was pretty creepy, and they worked very hard to make it a fun time for everyone, even having a costume contest with anonymous judges!

Sunday, as always, is my chill day. I picked up some tacos from Stacks Mobile Bistro (the best taco place in the TC that I've had thus far), and VOR came to eat and pop her RHPS cherry, which I was glad to oblige. We even did pretend props during the show, which made it even more fun for me. RHPS has been a tradition since I was little, and I still have yet to go to an actual live show where they dress up and do the real props, but I will! (I finally got to go to a RHPS burlesque show at Out & About in Pasco, WA in 2023 & loved every second of it!)

I can't say that my depression is completely gone, but I can say that spending time with my people helped a lot. They don't expect things from me; they love me for exactly who I am, even during the times when I can't entirely make plans because I don't know what the next day will bring. It's those faces that I see when I am in my dark and lonely cave that help me focus on the good things I have, and I appreciate them more than they know.

What did you do for Halloween? Let me see your pictures!

As always, THANK YOU for reading!

🖤💋💨