Halloween in the scariest year yet

Halloween went off well in our usual favorite trick or treat spot. For once, both kids got equal attention for their efforts - Theo delighted the little kids with his inflatable video game character, and millennials and below loved Bobby’s Napoleon Dynamite. I’m so glad he wanted to be that character. He doesn’t seem to have an issue with his  (still) flaming red hair - especially at a school that’s majority Latino/Asian, so he stands out. It shows how society has still progressed despite the current relentless regression; I once spoke to a woman in her nineties who said how when she was a kid you’d be bullied for having red hair or freckles or being tall or short; not to say those things don’t still happen, but I’d like to believe it’s getting better. 

So phase one of the holiday trifecta is in the books - I de-decorated the house yesterday and packed the costumes away (I re-purposed the Cruella DeVile costume I wore at my event), last night the time changed; it’s time to settle in to fall and the gradual darkening. In the meantime, everything is pretty chaotic and frightening - yesterday, SNAP benefits expired, and nobody knows if the orange turd is going to follow judge’s orders to re-fund them; the government remains shut down (I think we’re easily going to break the shut down length record, which happens on Tuesday); a good portion of the White House was illegally destroyed and there’s nothing anybody can do about it; and - and this directly affects us - healthcare premiums are about to go through the roof, so although I think me and the kids will be sort of ok, getting the H coverage after a year of no healthcare may now be impossible. Thanks, Republicans! 

But in better news, there are major, consequential elections happening the day after tomorrow, and I’m excited to watch. California should pass Prop 50 fairly easily, and Mamdani is set to be elected mayor of NYC. I sure hope he doesn’t turn out to be a disappointment. So, as per usual, despite all the current horrors and abuses, there may be some wins this week. Oh, and the Dodgers won the World Series (again) last night. So, there’s that. 

Three weeks until Thanksgiving, then three weeks until winter break. The kids are doing just fine. I’m still convinced Theo isn’t learning anything at school, so I’m interested to see how his parent-teacher conference goes, whenever that is. Should be this month. Part of me wants to raise hell about it - have him moved to another class, demand his teacher step it up and stop giving the kids entire days off of doing any schoolwork - but then I think, eh, it’s just sixth grade, who cares, and also, I could be totally wrong about all of this. Theo may not be the most reliable narrator on what goes on in his classroom. So we’ll see what it’s like when I meet his teacher. I’ll definitely ask if he’s getting any different treatment as one in a “gifted cluster” (my guess is no). Again I wonder if things would be different if he’d stayed at his old school, or if this is just the state of public education (I was in a very demanding private school from 5th-8th grade, so it’s hard to compare). I’ve been asking myself lately, if he gets in to Bobby’s school (which he should), should he sign up for all advanced classes out of the gate the way Bobby did? Or just stick with easy stuff so as not to overwhelm him? It’s a really tough call. Thankfully that’s a problem for another time. Once again, the determination that Theo got as “gifted” but not “highly gifted” like Bobby, means a lot of doors are closed for him, despite being a bright and studious kid. And like all kids, he can only rise to the level he’s presented. 

And then I think, does any of this even matter, in a world where AI will shortly take over all jobs and nobody under 50 will ever be able to afford housing or a family? These are the questions we have to ask ourselves in 2025. What future do these kids have? Will something step in and save us from this craven, willful self-destruction? The next year will definitely have some answers.