The maddest dash

So the plan for tonight is that I will head home after work on my usual train, which gets me to my door between 5 and 5:15. I’ll pay the babysitter and gather up the kids and grab a bag specially packed by my wife this morning and get back on the road, to head over to my buddy Clutch’s house, which is where we traditionally start our trick-or-treating since his neighborhood is full of family residences all built right on top of each other, and thus very convenient for door-to-door-to-door outings with maximum efficiency. (Not to mention the fact that the whole neighborhood goes all out for Halloween, with elaborate lawn displays and interactive candy dispensaries and whatnot.) Barring any hellacious traffic disasters we should get to my buddy’s house before dark, and therefore before the trick-or-treating can begin, which is just as well because that’s the point at which I will need to try to convince my kids to eat something not fashioned entirely out of high fructose corn syrup. This in spite of the fact that I’m sure all they will want to do is get into their costumes and/or play with all the other kids gathering under Clutch’s roof. (Well, the little guy and little girl, at least. The baby will probably be somewhat indifferent as to when or if he gets dressed up. Regardless.)

At some point my wife will meet up with us, since her current place of employment is town-adjacent to Clutch’s neighborhood and she’ll head over right after she gets off work. This may or may not be in time to help me convince my son that having a couple of bites of pizza aligns more closely with his best interests than jumping into his Buzz Lightyear space ranger uniform. Honestly, it could go either way.

I’m curious to see how long my kids last on the trick-or-treating, particularly the little girl. They’re clearly going to be up past their bedtime (the aforementioned pre-packed bag will of course have pajamas within) but I’m not sure if they’ll be manic well into the beginning of the car ride home, or if they’ll start to fade around their usually scheduled appointment with their PillowPals.

I am happy to report, though, that pretty much everyone is healthy enough to enjoy Halloween, which was a touch-and-go prospect this time last week. The little guy skated through with nary a symptom, and the little girl and the baby seemed to have come through to the other side of the worst of their respective afflictions (more or less, though they both got flu shots on Tuesday, and who knows if some delayed adverse reaction is in the offing). And the weather report for tonight anticipates that it will be mostly dry and not terribly cold, which is reassuring even if I am rationally certain that going out and about in the dampest of chills has nothing to do with infection. Confidence for my own sake is one thing, but for my kids I’d just as soon minimize the risks, even against old wives’ tales.