I have a confession to make – I’ve always loved Scooby-Doo. I remember watching Scooby when I was growing up and never tiring from the familiar theme: Scooby and friends meet a creepy person, strange things start happening, Scooby and Shaggy get scared, the friends trap the villan who turns out to be the creepy person from the beginning, and the villain proclaims, “I would have gotten away with it, too,  if it wasn’t for you meddling kids.” 

I was overjoyed when Olivia made the transition from Elmo to Scooby when she was almost four. I was impressed when she learned to sing the theme song with an English accent, and I was openly disappointed when she traded the mystery machine for My Friends Tigger and Pooh.

So, imagine my elation when five-year-old Evan asked to be Scooby-Doo for Halloween and started watching those classic shows.

Tonight at dinner, Evan informed us that he would like each of us to be one of  Scooby’s friends for Halloween. Even better, he went around the table and told each of us which characters we would be. Daddy would be Freddy, and Nicholas would be Velma. I quickly became aware of where this conversation was going… As I had suspected, Olivia was Daphne, and I was named Shaggy.

When I asked Evan why he made me Shaggy, he said, “So you can be my friend.” With a full heart, I answered, “And we can eat big sandwiches together.”

The Ring Family – 2012