Anticipation

This morning, on the way to school, the girls started talking about Halloween. They're already looking forward to Halloween, in the way I imagine a heroin addict looks forward to his or her next fix. They weren't excited about their costumes or the adventure of Trick-or-Treating. Oh, no. They were focused on the CANDY!

OH MY GOD, THE CANDY . . . they said. They talked about chocolate and lollipops and SpongeBob marshmallow treats in the kind of tones that most people reserve for something they're drooling over. I didn't look back to see if any napkins were required. Then Allie spoke the words that brought the conversation to a place of horror.

"I hope we don't get any apples."

NO! NO! THE INHUMANITY!

Not that the girls have ever gotten an apple while Trick-or-Treating. That would be a pretty unlikely treat in these cautious days. And their tone of dread ignored the fact that Allie loves apples and in fact she had one for breakfast today.

I'll admit it. I loved the days when the girls would go Trick-or-Treating and then Greg and me (mostly me) got all of their chocolate treats because all they cared about was the fruity and chewy stuff. Now, Allie actually likes chocolate. Fortunately, I still have the power to forbid her to keep her candy in her room. That means after 8:15 or so--fair dibs!