Trick or Treat

My three little pirates, ready to set sail on an adventure.
One house, two house, three house, four.
Five house, six house, seven house, more.

With little glow stick necklaces swishing back and forth,
They run hard toward the door,
Slowing only when they are alllllllmost there.
And they both turn to see if he’s behind them.
They get candy and make sure he has some, too.

As they turn and begin to rush back to me,
The littlest pauses to say ‘Fanks!’
And my mama-pride glows.

They repeat to me the ‘rules’ of trick or treating.
“We must always let an adult check our candy to make sure we can have it.”
They repeat what they’ve been told at school.
“It would be a tragedy if we ate something we were allergic to and died.”
“Ummmmm….yes, it would.”
I am surprised, although I shouldn’t be.

Buckets of candy poured out on the floor.
“One piece each” I say.
“Okay…one more.  But that’s really it.”
Even in these little things, I second guess myself.
Should I have stuck with just one piece?
Am I not being consistent enough?
Will not sticking to my guns come back to haunt me?
Am I tricking myself?  Treating them with too much?

But it’s just a piece of candy.
One more piece of candy won’t hurt. 
Seriously!
It’s a piece of candy, Bridget.
You don’t have to over-analyze every.little.thing! 

Bath and bed.
Prayers and snuggles.

“Mama, this was the best night ever.”
Yes, baby…yes, it was.


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4 Responses to Trick or Treat
  1. Sarah
    November 1, 2011 | 8:08 am

    This post has me smiling. I love the repeating the rules, the “fanks!..”
    I totally get the second-guessing thing. I’m still waiting for my first to be born, but I’m pretty sure that’s going to be me.
    All in all, it sounds like a wonderful evening.

  2. heather
    November 1, 2011 | 2:00 pm

    I’m an over-analyzer too. But some nights are made for YES 🙂 love your poem!

  3. Tricia
    November 1, 2011 | 9:46 pm

    Oh the second guessing is way too familiar to me. Those same questions run through my brain a dozen times each day. Even with the little things. Glad you all had a fun Halloween!

  4. domestic extraordinaire
    November 2, 2011 | 11:58 am

    love their costumes, their smiles and their momma!

    We passed out candy here at my house with some people from church. We handed out almost 500 snack bags of candy and we ran out 30 minutes before it was over. The Pastor was amazed.

    Next year we plan bigger.