Fistfuls of Candy

Five days past Halloween and the reality sinks in, the amount of candy laying around the house is treacherous. When you really think about it, the whole Halloween process is kind of strange. After teaching children the cardinal rule of not accepting candy from strangers, we dedicate a whole day, replete with costumes, occult themes and the celebration of the undead, to collecting as much candy as possible, from strangers.

The amount of candy that the children brought home was unwieldy, the festivities and "safe" activities were plentiful and most of it took place in the middle of the afternoon thanks to Halloween being on the weekend this year. It had been years since it was on the weekend and there was much deliberation about when was the best time to go out trick or treating.

We expected "trick or treaters" all day but unfortunately there were not that many on our street. We realized that most of the children had aged out and there are only a handful of Halloween-ready young ones left. Nevertheless, I love trick or treating on my street because it is my opportunity to catch up with the neighbors before we all become shut-ins for the winter.

My brother does not celebrate Halloween and I have met others who don't either. My husband thinks the whole thing is overwrought and I do to a certain extent. When we were growing up, there was not that much emphasis on Halloween, there weren't thousands of costumes to choose from or hundreds of retailers plying their Halloween wares. And tales of tainted candy and razorblades found in apples were urban legend. There simply was not that much selection of candy or sweets that were individually wrapped and what was available was expensive.

Anyhow, back to present day. The bowls of candy beckon and we are faced with the reality that we cannot eat it all else we'll rot our teeth or gain weight. So what is the point of all the candy collecting anyway when no part of it is truly good for us at all.