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6 OUR YUCAIPA | NOVEMBER 2015 The Middle of the Road: By Randy Peters, a middle-aged, middle-income, middle-school teacher Some things never change - like wasting marshmallows I am the youngest of three. My role as an eight-year old child was to do whatever my older brother and sister expected of me. Keep them happy, my parents would be happy, and my life would be happy. Now, I'm a middle-aged man in a successful career. I've been married for almost 30 years. Our kids have moved away. They are in their 20s and are developing their careers. As we dive into another autumn holiday season, I got to thinking about how the holidays are unique for each of us depending on our point of view. As that eight-year-old kid I saw the holidays very differently than I do today. Here are some of those differences. Halloween: Mom bought those tiny Halloween bags again. That means a night of separating candies. We have to make sure that the same type of candy is in each bag. Everything must be fair for everyone. My brother gets to staple the bags shut. He always gets to do the fun stuff. My sister is counting the bags and organizing them into the bowls. I guess they don't think I can do the math. At least I get to wear a really cool costume this year. I made it out of an old packing box. I covered it in aluminum foil. I cut two holes for my arms and a hole in the front where I taped my bicycle lamp in it. It is the coolest robot costume ever! I don't understand why I have to wait until after we eat a 'good meal' before we can go trick or treating. My mom makes me wear a sweater under the box in case it gets chilly later on. Now, my focus has shifted. Before it gets too dark, I better make sure all the steps leading to the front door are lit. It would be my luck that an "Elsa" will trip over her costume and fall and her parents find a lawyer. The jack-o-lanterns are lit and close to the front door so I can keep an eye on them later on when the car loads of teenagers get let loose in the neighborhood. My wife has filled a couple of large bowls with candy and pencils (for the peanut-allergy, gluten-free, low-carb clientele). The trick with the candy is to start slow and then by 8:30 pm or so start grabbing handfuls so the candy is out of the house by the time I turn off the lights and head to the back of the house pretending we aren't home any more. By 9:30, I have to remember to gather the jack-o- lanterns and throw them away before someone tries to smash them in the street. Thanksgiving: I've never seen my mom make so many lists for the grocery store. Stacks of canned goods are growing on the kitchen cabinets. We must be getting ready to feed a lot of people. I wonder who is coming over for Thanksgiving. I asked my dad and he just rolls his eyes. That must mean grandma's coming! Dinner is nice. We turn off TV for the time it takes us to eat. For some reason we have yams with fried marshmallows on top. I always think that is a waste of perfectly good marshmallows. Cleaning up was always quite the task. Of course, my sister always had to wash and I had to dry. It always seemed to work out that it's my turn to dry on Thanksgiving. I used to wonder where my brother went while I was wiping the once-a-year dishes with a wet towel. The focus on today's Thanksgivings has shifted from the food to the people who might attend. We've lost some family members over the past few years. Our kids aren't just down the hallway avoiding setting the table. They're hours away by freeway or plane. They have careers and responsibilities they have to attend to. But they make it home. They sit around the table and help their mom plan her Black Friday Olympic Adventures. Some things don't change, though. We still destroy perfectly good marshmallows on yams. I still somehow manage to get stuck drying the dishes that can't go in the dishwasher. And my favorite time is when the dishes are done and we can spend time with others. We usually play games. It doesn't matter who wins these days. What matters is we laugh. I hope as the autumn holidays continue, I'll have more chances to laugh. But I really am done with the burnt marshmallows. Keep your eyes on the road.

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