As information - I do not remember continuously before 7. I was very shy as a child and would cry if forced out from the parent's leg I was attached to. I remember getting polio shots and laying down on the ground kicking and screaming and crying. I don't remember how common this behavior was. My first enjoyable Halloween was 7. In this one, I was a ghost with an old cut-up bed sheet. Candy wasn't meaningful as mom took that away. I already knew that was going to happen. I remember that I felt safe and free.
Some Halloweens had an added "east wind" effect. I would get hyper with the east wind In Southern California and just go wild: running, jumping and so forth. I would jump up and down to exhaustion - about 2 hours? I don't remember how long I did this. On Halloween, with a mask, I could be as wild as I liked. There were others, especially some boys, that were the same way.
I think 13 was my last Halloween as a kid. After 13, I stayed home and handed out candy.
Jumping up and down is something I have not thought about for a while. I used to jump up and down as a kid, well into adulthood. Even when I started gaining weight and running a mile or two, I would still jump up and down for hours but it had morphed into part of the more acceptable exercise or dance routine. I remember it slowed down and stopped at some point at 24 - 26. I do not know if it was due to age or something else. I had put on weight and I had started to meditate, working up from 2, 10 minute sessions to 2 hours per day.
Both children were very clingy to us, up to age three, and to this day Dylan at age five still is. He is very affectionate and non-verbal but very socially acceptable in terms of smiling, eye contact, laughing and wanting physical contact and being comfortable with that.
Dylan always though hates his blood taking out, shots, and anything attached to him, so we can relate to that fear of yours as a child. He has severe sensory sensitivity issues to those things on or in his skin, and is hypersensitive to pain. He keeps trying to get that stuff off of him. He will itch often that area after that.
Dylan will cry and thrash about until all those blood and skin things are done and he is wheeled away in his stroller, and as he hates new environments and persons, too. Three need to hold him down for those things, which makes it worse as again he is sensitive to the others touching him, and to such force. He is fine with us as he trusts us and we are gentle with him.
Dylan gets really excited by wind, with him hopping up and down, too, and flapping his hands. He just does it for a few seconds though, then stops and starts it up again when the gust comes back. I would not be surprised one day if he prefers to gets into some entertainment field or athletics like marathon running where size is not too important.
As a child I loved going trick or treating with my two brothers, but a bit scared at who would answer the door, or if they would answer at all. I did not want to socialize with the greeters, but to get my treat and run. It was not selfishness then, but just me being a kid then and not wanting the chit chat, and being conditioned by media going door to door quickly is what you do. I love Autumn scenery and weather.
So, I hope others do not think I had no fun at holidays, as there were some nice memories, especially for Christmas, Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving. The stressful holiday times where our parents were in not the spirit and not happy outweighed the good, but there were several such occasions of fun times. Our mother tried; our father did not.
