Ending a Halloween Tradition

 Doug and I had decided several weeks ago that would not be handing out candy this year for Halloween.  We just didn't feel comfortable having hundreds of trick or treaters stopping by the house.  There were several suggestions in the news on how to participate safely in the Halloween tradition including a long tube from the second floor acting as a candy shute or leaving treats in a bowl on the porch.  I noticed that my neighbor treated the holiday like a parade throwing candy to the children walking by her house.  There were definitely a lot of families walking down our street, but a lot less than normal.  It was a beautiful night and I believe in a typical year we could have had a record number or trick or treaters especially since the holiday fell on a Saturday.  In the end we did not have anyone stop by our house.  I was a little surprised, but leaving the lights off and covering the front door windows must have been a big enough deterrent for anyone to even try.

We had asked Cameron to stay at home this Halloween as well.  He texted his friend during the trick or treat hours to tell her about the blanket covering the front door.  She told him that her family took it one step further putting a sign on the door that said, "Don't knock, we have COVID."  In the end Cameron had no problem giving up trick or treating as there was plenty of Big Ten football games to watch.  An IU victory over Rutgers was better than any candy he could have received.  

The rest of the Heinisch family had a low key Halloween as well.  Meg and Nick went hiking in Brown County and then watched movies.  Brett had to work this evening and had several interesting calls that seemed appropriate for the day.  He celebrated Halloween by finishing "13 Ghosts."  Cal had the most typical Halloween dressing up for Hannah-Marie's costume party.  They looked great in their Pulp Fiction costumes.  The pandemic may have changed some of our Halloween traditions, but in the end we were all ok with that.  We had made some wonderful memories in the 22 years of trick or treating at the Heinisch Home.  It had to end sometime.