If Halloween had a Grinch, this year it would be me.
I didn’t want to deal with the issues that food allergies bring to what should be a fun holiday. I didn’t want to explain to my little guy why he couldn’t have candy. I didn’t want to be the helicopter mom at the Halloween party.
So…
We didn’t go to the Halloween parade and party at his school. And we didn’t go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.
Instead, I reluctantly bought candy at the last minute and I cheated on his costume – he wore his Superman PJs.
And it turned out to be one of the best Halloweens I’ve celebrated in a long time. He had so much fun just sitting at the front door waiting for the trick-or-treaters to come by and give them candy. He’d say “Trick-or-Treat guys” and drop a piece of candy in each open, waiting pillowcase.
The teenagers (and there were a lot of them) thought he was adorable in his Superman “costume.”
And I realized that I can’t, nor should I, shelter my son because of his food allergies or my social insecurities. Just because his experience will be different doesn’t mean he should be kept from it.
At this age, he doesn’t know what’s different and maybe that’s a blessing. He didn’t want to go trick-or-treating; he didn’t want the candy; he seemed content to give it out to the kids who came to the door. Next year, things might be different. He might want to be one of those kids going door to door. And when he does, we’ll go and leave the Food Allergy Grinch at home.

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