Trick or Treat?

I was reading some posts the other day on what some thought of Trick or Treating. The grand topic of conversation was how they don't pass out candy to anyone looking older than 12. They feel that is wrong and by principle alone..they weren't going to do it again this year as well.


Ok......



The age of 10 was a difficult time period for me. I had a child's mind and attitude, but my body betrayed me. I was tall for my age...5'4 and still am that height today. Mind you, I feel it is a perfect height for me today, but not at age ten. I also developed as well. I was horrified. I use to hunch my shoulders inward to hide my chest and to make it appear I was shorter than I was.

Halloween for us was a fun time. The focus was more on dressing up and going out with my brother and friends. It wasn't so much about the candy for our mother would pool our loot into a bowl and put it on the top shelf in the cupboard and we would have a treat here and there. Many times when Halloween rolled around once again....we still had candy in that bowl from the precious year.

I was so excited when I was ten. I was so proud of my costume. I put a lot of thought into it. I was a Viking and it was homemade. I had a bowl on top of my head for a helmet. My father made horns sticking out of it. I had a brown towels as a shirt and a lamp dangling chains as a necklace. I blackened out my teeth and had a shield and wood axe over my shoulder. I was COOL.

One of the very first houses we went too....was an old lady. She refused to give me candy because I was TOO OLD. Said so.

I was taken aback and hurt and so confused as I told her I was TEN. She told me I was a lair and passed my plastic pumpkin up and gave my 8 year old brother double the amount.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to go home.

My brother told me to forget her.......we shared our candy anyways.

I didn't care about the candy. My feelings were so hurt. I was crushed and just wanted to cry.


That was my last year I went trick or treating.



I still think Halloween is fun. I do.

I treat those that show up at my door with respect. I ooh and aww over their costumes. I want them to have fun. I don't care if they are teenagers or not. I would rather have a high schooler come to my door for candy than to get into mischief.

Those cute tots that have no teeth and the parents are carrying them....do you truly think that they are going to eat that candy? NOPE......do I care? ...nope.

People just want to have fun.


Every year.....I think of that old lady that hurt my feelings. I would like to say that as an adult....I am over it.........I am....in the sense....I understand the source. What I have not forgotten was how I felt that night.


So......when giving out candy....please...rethink about your convictions...your principles of ONLY giving out candy to WHOM you think is under 12.

I leave you with this thought....



Life is really too short for such strong convictions.............

and yet...a life time of everlasting hurt for others.


Trick?

or

Treat?