It’s the time of year we’ve all waited for. The one day when adults get to “check” the day’s haul to make sure all the candy is safe from apparent tampering, as if a syringe will be sticking out the side of an Almond Joy or the Milk Duds will have a radioactive glow about them.
This year is likely to go down in the history books as one to remember, or forget, depending on where you are in your “Suck It 2020 Twelve-Step Acceptance Program.” Halloween is on a Saturday during a global pandemic with a full moon, followed by a day in which we will turn back our clocks for an extra hour of sleep, in a year when murder hornets are a thing, and then two days later we will once again elect an old white man as President, all while parts of Colorado are simultaneously on fire and receiving snow. At this rate, The Great Pumpkin may actually appear!
Whether you choose to hand out candy with a hazmat suit or pair of tongs, know that the kids who do show up at your door are desperately trying to reclaim one teeny tiny piece of normalcy. So much has been taken away from them this year, and much more remains uncertain. Even if they come to you without a costume, throw them a Snickers and let them be kids, or giant kids, or adults who dress their infants in costumes and canvass the neighborhood for candy we all know their baby can’t eat--but who cares because it’s Halloween, and we could all use a little fun!
No matter your views on the pandemic in general, be kind and find a way to take joy in an outdoor holiday meant for wearing masks and not fighting about it, pilfering sugar from neighbors, and identifying how many “Karens” come by your door. If nothing else, we as adults can salute each other as we meander off the sidewalks while passing, attempting to put social distance between us. A nod, a knowing smile (or wink for those wearing a mask), all it takes is for us to acknowledge that we see each other, we know the struggle is real, and we better hit the liquor store, so we have something to go with all this chocolate.
If 2020 teaches us nothing, it's that the unexplainable shouldn't surprise us. Maybe this year, when you leave the sign saying “Please Take One” you’ll come back to find some candy still left in the bowl...but then again, let’s be honest...it’s 2020 after all. You’ll probably return to find an inflatable dinosaur fighting a sexy maid over a now empty bowl as one final mini Milky Way flies into the air while a penguin and a ladybug scream profanities at one another which one of your children will repeat while on his zoom call with his Kindergarten teacher on Monday. Happy Halloween everyone.