She Was A Teenage Werewolf

        The mixture of a full moon, excessive sugar, raging hormones and limited sleep was a recipe for disaster from the beginning. We were fully prepared for a challenge, but when I picked up my daughter, after her long night of Halloween revelry and a sleepover, I could have sworn that she was different. Maybe it was the poor lighting in the car, or the distortion in my convex ‘conversation-review-mirror’, but she looked a little green and bloated, with red eyes, and disheveled hair…..and I think her head might have been spinning…. Dismissing it as candy-corruption and fiesta-fatigue, I didn’t comment on the situation, but simply and silently drove home. I tuned the iPod to Cat Stevens “Peace Train” just in case….

         But my sweetie-pie never returned last night. Her loving and stimulating demeanor had been taken by the Halloween demons (knew she should have worked harder on her disguise), and replaced with a diabolical beast. I tried to kill that beast, and rescue my obviously overcome daughter, but the spirit was powerful and all my attempts were failures. And not being religious at all, and having no clue as to how to draw out a fiend, at one point I contemplated Googling “How to Exorcise at Home” or “The Parents Guide to Teenage Exorcism”, but I was frankly concerned with the potential results. Sticking to the basics then, and being uncertain as to what the beast feared the most, I put extra garlic in the salad, and walked around armed with the flower spritzer…….the closest thing to holy water I could find.

         Despite my endless attempts however, the evening ended in tremendous frustration, revoked privileges, and with a repeatedly slammed door leaning solo and hinge-less against the wall in the hallway….

                  “….cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train….oh peace train sounding louder, glide on the peace train….”

         

         Fading in and out of possession, I caught glimpses of my delightful girl this morning at breakfast. The Halloween hangover was evidently wearing off and I even perceived what I thought was a smile when she politely asked about her door being re-attached. By the time we made it to the bus stop, there had indeed been a giggle, but it wasn’t until she hugged me and said, “I love you” before hopping on the bus, that I knew she had finally defeated the monster inside. Whew. That was scary.

         Thank god Halloween only comes once a year.