Tricks, Treats and Hugs

For Wilshire Baptist Church

Halloween 2023 will be remembered for plentiful treats, a few tricks and abundant hugs.

We had 91 kids come to our door. We thought we had enough candy for the crowd, but as the bucket began to dwindle, we raided the pantry for other packaged snacks such as pretzels and peanut butter crackers. We joked that maybe we could hand out random fast food condiment packets such as ketchup and salad dressing, but the treats outlasted the kids and no tricks were needed.

The youngest children were accompanied by parents, of course, and that included lifelong friends Courtney and Barbie who brought Keller, their son and grandson, who was dressed like a crab. They have a hermit crab for a pet so that seemed fitting. They came in out of the cold for a short visit and some photos, and as we opened the door for them to continue on their rounds, we exchanged hugs at the same time another group of children was bounding up the steps. They obviously saw the hugging, because after LeAnn dropped candy in their bags, they extended their little superhero and princess arms for the hugs they thought were part of our Halloween ritual. I wonder if they passed that on at the next house they visited? If so, not a bad treat to share with our neighbors.

While some houses on the street went all out with inflatables, lights, giant spider webs, skeletons, black cats, tombstones and zombies, we were more simply decorated. We already had a fall theme going with a pumpkin, scarecrow, hay bale, an artificial mum and a real one. I added to that earlier in the day with illuminated paper jack-o-lanterns hung from plant hooks. And keeping a cheeky promise I made mostly to myself in September, I draped my two radiation treatment masks over the lanterns on either side of the front door. The effect was more strange than scary, and I doubt any kids looked up to notice them. But for me, it was a way of exorcising memories of a long summer of treatments that were no treat.

Between greeting our guests and handing out candy, we watched the World Series with me hitting the pause button on the remote when the doorbell rang so we wouldn’t miss anything. The Rangers were gathering hits and runs like kids collecting candy, and it was an unexpected treat to have it all happening at once. 

Before the night was over, our friends stopped by again because Keller needed one more hug. At 10 p.m. we turned off the porch lights to signal Halloween was done at our house. I brought in the Halloween decorations so they wouldn’t become tricks for late-roaming teenagers. As I took down my masks and stuffed them in a bag in the attic, I wondered if we would use them again next year, or would I eventually put them out with the trash? I also brushed aside a brief wave of fright as I wondered if the next round of scans would have me being fitted for a new mask. 

But those thoughts were just the trick of a nervous mind and a worry for another day. It was time to fall back on the couch and reflect on a good night. We got all the kids sugared up, had a great visit with friends, and watched the Rangers get one game closer to their first World Series trophy.