By Heather Kestian
Holy cold, Batman.
There was snow … on Halloween this year. That fact alone was enough to scare the pants off of me; except that would have made things worse. This cold spell had me shaking in my boots and thinking about calling it quits for trick-or-treating.
I asked my parenting brain the following question. What kind of parent would go trick-or-treating in this weather? She replied with, “What kind of parent skips out on trick-or-treating?” Then she mockingly said under her indignant breath, “Chicken.”
I must admit, I wanted to skip going out in the spitting rain and cold, blowing wind. It was frightful outside. Why go out in this weather to venture for some candy? Have I lost my mind?
I quickly realized why I had to go out in this weather. When I looked around me, I saw two pitiful children who had spent the last 30 days building up the excitement of the night. They were ready for a huge haul of Halloween loot. Think of the sugar rush they would have missed!
The negative Nelly in me thought going outside right now was a crazy idea. She screamed at me: “Put your foot down, lady! You are the boss here!”
We bundled up the whole family in a ridiculous amount of gear. Winter coats, gloves, hats, scarves and boots were strategically placed amid the costumes. It was slightly difficult to tell what one of my children was and the other looked like a puffy Thomas the Tank Engine. They braved the elements and fought the cold, which lasted for exactly five houses. All of this for approximately 10 pieces of candy. Apparently, this is the lesson where we talk about the return on an investment.
They had a good time for the first two houses. After they turned into the wind, it was an entirely different story. One lamented, “It is really kind of raining.”
Yes, dear, it was raining two houses ago, too. I feel a certain tide beginning to turn. Keep it coming, Mother Nature. I am thinking he will realize he has candy at home any second now.
At house number four, one kid questions this behavior. By house number five, they wanted to walk back across the street, talk a warm bath and watch a Halloween movie. As it turns out, I have raised smart children who can recognize when to cut their losses.
