childhood living is easy to do:
So what's your reaction when your parents say to you, out of the blue, "For Halloween, we will still be on vacation. You will be the only one home. You don't have to open the door for anyone. Just ignore. Don't have to give candy"?

Family dynamics are funny things. Of course I thought to myself, 'what the hell?', but just dismissed it with, "uh-huh". Ignorable.

So why the random statement? Expression of power? Shot-calling? We set the rules around here. It doesn't matter how random it is, we can tell you what to do even though we can't enforce it and actually couldn't care less, and you probably will do whatever you'll do?

Possibly. They sure weren't making conversation. The subtext probably is "we can make these silly demands to mildly humiliate you because you don't have a job and have no value". Whatever they're insinuating doesn't bother me, that's not why I'm writing about it, but it's interesting to mull over the intricacies of family dynamics and consider the various and sundry ways that exchange could have escalated and become heated.

Most of the time, like this one, it's not worth it, just concede, all the while knowing you'll be handing out candy (unless from years of experience and lore, neighborhood kids already know not to even try at this house). True, sometimes you need to fight for even a little bit of your pride in order to survive the ordeal of family, and then it's understandable, but make sure you're conscious of it. It's not substantive, and if you think it's substantive, you protect your pride at the expense of your soul.

I've repressed most of the memories (or just forgotten them – moving away and not having to deal with the 'rents for 11 years does wonders), but little bits and peeks have been reminding me that I think I perceived my father a tyrant while growing up, and that is what I was fighting against. It's weird to recall that because he's a feeble old man now. I think it would be weird for him now to know I might have perceived him as a tyrant.

And we're at the point where we're supposed to be looking back at it all and it's all supposed to seem funny.