Why We Let the Kids Trick or Treat

We let the kids trick or treat last night. We hadn’t planned to.

We had intended to do a parade with close friends from the neighborhood across the street. The kids would be masked and there would be distancing. But when I saw the guest list approaching 80 people, I balked. The scary claws of pandemic-induced agoraphobia reached out, like the demons who would be parading around the neighborhood mansion. We would not get in the car and drive the five short minutes to their house.

My husband and I, ourselves, are not monsters, however. We encouraged the kids to dress up. In the house. Since some older neighbors had asked if our kids would be trick or treating (with a hopeful gleam in their eyes), we promised we’d stop by and wave hello. And so, we set out for a walk.

Every morning, we do a loop around the block, walking back home for virtual school. I figured, if I make them walk a mile every morning, we could at least let them stroll a bit on their favorite night of the year. Our old suburban neighborhood has 1,000+ homes set reasonably close together, a trick or treaters dream.

At 6:00, we set out. A toddler in a pumpkin tutu. A boy in Superman pajamas and a cape. Two older girls in superhero costumes they’d purchased with money they earned raking our backyard. All wearing masks. I carried warm gloves and…