Halloween // When was the last time you went Trick r’ Treating?

Do you remember? The very last time you knocked on a strangers door with a pale in your hand? Or perhaps a pillow case? Did you know it was your last time, or did it end without celebration? Without acknowledgment?

What was the costume? The last one you wore to gather candy? Was it cold that night, or was it unseasonably warm? Did the candy taste sweeter, or was it more bitter? We’re you alone, or did you have a group? Did it feel different?

When was the last time you went trick or treating? I feel like that’s a question that will only ever make you sad to answer. Similar to “when was the last time you climbed a tree?” “When was the last time you played hide and seek?” or “when was the last time you had a campfire?”

Those are questions that hurt to answer, at least for me. I never wanted to stop trick or treating, like many kids I convinced myself I wouldn’t have to. What could stop me? Why would I ever want to quit? But I did, I think I was 13, probably too old. I didn’t know it would be the last time. I didn’t have some form of celebration where my friends and I agreed it would be the last time, and we make a big moment out of it. No, I just didn’t do it the next year. It made the final time seem small, insignificant.

I passed out candy every Halloween after that for almost 10 years. I still wore costumes, and I enjoyed the experience through the kids who got scared of me. And then I moved to Halloween parties. Costumed gatherings with snacks and horror films. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Halloween parties. But I always ask myself,

When was the last time I went trick or treating?