Halloween is two weeks from today. Which means two weeks from today our streets will be crowded with little ghouls and goblins. So you should be exceptionally careful when you are driving around town. (Not that you shouldn’t be every day!) Costumes, kids and the thrill of Halloween makes even the most responsible kid a little crazy. With the excitement of going door to door with friends, it’s easy to forget to look both ways before crossing the street. (And it’s a half day of school to boot; so we all should be extra alert!)
Halloween is definitely a favorite around Verona. We’ve got plenty of creative lawn/house decorators out there. (Just go for a drive around town and see!) There are also the businesses that will have their windows painted by middle schoolers next Saturday morning that add to the festive fall feel.
My family loves Halloween. My son and I walk (maybe that should be run? Or sprint?) around town gathering candy, while my husband stays home and hands out the goodies. (That is if kids aren’t too afraid to approach our front door.) For my son, I think it’s more about GETTING candy than actually eating it. (But I could be wrong.)
As a kid, I loved Halloween too, but it could be challenging too. I have life-threatening food allergies. I could never just dive in and eat my bounty, I had to check the ingredients too. Back in the day, labeling wasn’t as clear as it is now. I wasn’t just looking for egg, I was looking for albumen (or egg white). While everyone else was digging into Milky Ways or Snickers, I was digging around for a plain Hershey bar. (And I still am. Although some people grow out of allergies, I mine have actually INCREASED and gotten worse over the years.) I had go through all of my hard earned booty and only eat what was safe for me.
Thankfully today allergies are better understood. I used to be the “weird” kid who couldn’t eat cupcakes (egg allergy), have turkey at Thanksgiving (poultry allergy), and would catch blue claw crabs but wouldn’t eat them (shellfish allergy). Today it’s not uncommon to have a nut-free zone in school (amazingly, nuts are NOT one of the things I am allergic to) and autoinjectors of epinephrine are commonplace. (I had to travel with a bee sting kit which thankfully I never had to use.) And for Halloween, the Teal Pumpkin Project is in its third year.
I wish this had been around when I was out trick or treating. Certainly would have made Halloween a little less stressful and a little more fun. (Besides who couldn’t use an extra Halloween pencil or eraser?)
This year, as in the past, there will be a teal pumpkin on my front door. (A print out; while my son is the artist, I am not at all creative!) There will be treats for all; candy as well as non-edible goodies (stickers, pencils, spider rings, etc.)
There is still plenty of time to get non-edible treats that are friendly to all children. Time’s time to go teal and make sure EVERYONE in Verona has a Safe and Happy Halloween!
