My son is no longer doing the trick or treating thing. This is actually his first year of "retirement". He has decided that since he no longer knows the neighbourhood, its time to hang up his treat bag.
I remember back when Halloween was a time of fear. We were on injections by the time my son started trick or treating and it was horrible. We had to eat first before he could go out or bring him a meal with us (in our old neighbourhood, younger kids tended to go out early and therefore were home safe and sound before it got dark). There was a lot of testing and him drooling over the candy unless he was low. Back in those days, I had to convince my children to go to more than a handful of houses. They were never really into candy and were bored quickly.
As my son reached school age, I dreaded Halloween parties, but as D-Mom suggested, I used to go to all of the parties. I wasn't the only parent there. It was a bit of an event at my children's schools and many parents arrived in costume. In our case, all treats were kept off to the side to be eaten later. Cupcakes were only eaten if it was snack time or kept for lunch.
Oh I am glad those days are behind us. When my son went on an insulin pump, things became a bit easier. He could eat his Halloween treats from school when he wanted (within reason) and we went door to door when we wanted to. At that point, I began to enjoy Halloween a little more. He could be like a normal kid and eat treats on the run. Lows were not a worry because we had a pillow case full of treats! Yes, as my children aged I no longer dragged them to one more house but wondered if they were ever coming home! We used cell phones and checked readings on a regular basis. The downside was all of that walking and activity meant that I sat up most of the night waiting for him to crash. It would happen but he enjoyed so it was worth it. Yes I know I could have adjusted basal rates, and over time I did but things would usually still happen...the price for fun when living with diabetes and not always being the perfect pancreas.
This year my son has spent his time getting ready to scare little kids both at school and at home. He has stayed after school to create the perfect haunted classroom for the younger students in school today. He decorated the house with spiders, skulls and other ghoulish items. He had me run out of purchase a bleeding mask to complete the effect. He is a little depressed to think that he will not bring home a pillow case filled with treats on the 31st but I have no doubt he will have enough stuff anyways. There is also always that chance that he will be convinced to go out one last time when Halloween actually arrives. The irony of his desire to fill a pillow case is that after all of these years, he still does not eat a quarter of what he collects! Treats have always been split with the family. Our waist lines say that no treats this year would be a good thing...our minds hope we have some left over treats on Monday :) Have a safe and happy Halloween everyone!
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