A Halloween Tale

Once upon a time, there were two little boys. They were 3 years and 2 years old. It was becoming apparent to the parents of these sweet little boys that they were getting old enough to enjoy the spirit of Halloween. But how do the parents handle Halloween without participating in the custom of trick or treating?

On a perfect autumn evening, a week before Halloween, there was a knock at this family's door. The mother opened the front door and was greeted by nothing but the crisp autumn air. On closer inspection she noticed a note tacked to the front door. The note read,

"Dear Troubled Parents,

I have the answer to your Halloween dilemma. Not all boys and girls should receive sweets and treats. Too much candy can be harmful for the health and growth of your children. I give help to parents who still want their children to enjoy Halloween but not have all the sweets that are being passed out. If you leave a lighted jack-o-lantern on your door step at dusk on Halloween, there will be a surprise for your children once the sun completely sets.

Signed,
The Farmer"

The mother was puzzled by this. She brought the note to the father who decided to accept the offer. What could it hurt by leaving a jack-o-lantern out on the stoop?

On Halloween, the little boys helped the mom carve a pumpkin. They placed a candle inside it and placed it outside on their stoop. When the sun had completely set, the mother quietly peaked outside and saw two small presents next to the jack-o-lantern. Each present had a tag that read, "To...." and "From The Great Pumpkin." The little boys were delighted to receive a new toy. The oldest of the little boys got a new portable train set while his younger brother got three small airplanes.

In time the family added two more little boys but the Great Pumpkin still delivered a present for all the boys in the family, including the new additions. When the boys were babies, they would get new blankets or pacifiers in autumn colors. As they grew, the gifts evolved into Legos, action figures or games. One year, the farmer heard how much the family wanted a family dog so the Great Pumpkin delivered a small puppy.

It became clear over the years that having the Great Pumpkin deliver a small gift for each child was better than dealing with the candy amid the children's food allergies.  When the youngest was 2, he was diagnosed with diabetes. That upcoming Halloween, the mother was happy to not be going crazy trying to count carbs and injecting insulin.

For a few years, this little boy was happy to get presents from the Great Pumpkin but he felt that he was being left out of something even more fun. One year he said to his mother, "I can go trick or treating. I don't have diabetes no more." Despite hearing his older brothers saying to him that the Great Pumpkin visited before he had been born, he kept insisting he needed to go trick or treating.

A year later, the mother still accepted the offer of the Great Pumpkin to drop off the gifts. She also took her son, who was now on the insulin pump, and his older brother trick or treating with the neighbors. Her son had a blast, and the mother was grateful that his blood sugars stayed normal. The mother did get a sternly worded letter from the Farmer saying that the Great Pumpkin does not deliver to those who trick or treat. She let her children know about this, and has since given them the choice to trick or treat or to get a visit from the Great Pumpkin. After that first round of trick or treating, the three oldest children decided to get visited from the Great Pumpkin. The youngest boy still chooses to go trick or treating even though he has claimed that it is a lot of work.

The mother has set some ground rules for the child that way his blood sugars stay level and she keeps the gray hairs and wrinkles away. She only lets her son have 5 pieces of candy a day for a week. Once that week is up, the candy gets disposed of. He also can only have the candy at a set time during that week. This helps keep the overnight numbers level. The fast-acting, artificially dyed candy is immediately given to the school for their candy jar. This keeps her other sons, who have bad reactions to artificial colors, from eating them. A lesson the mother sorely learned from the first year of trick or treating. The m&m's are stealthily placed in a top secret hiding spot for the mother to eat at her leisure.

With the ground rules in place, the mother woke up to another beautiful Halloween. Her sons and herself have carved their pumpkin and have placed it on the front step for dusk where it sits beckoning the Great Pumpkin to deliver the gifts. The youngest little boy anxiously awaits for the clock to read 5:00 where he will go dressed as a tiger to his friend's house to trick or treat. And the mother quietly waits to hear the shouts of glee and to see the wide smiles on her sons' faces when they see what the Great Pumpkin delivers or the treasure trove of candy her youngest son comes home with.

Happy Halloween!