Member-only story
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year to Be Really Depressed
If Halloween is any indication, I’m in for a lousy few months
Halloween is not my favorite holiday, but I was looking forward to it this time. Since 2020, COVID has kept many people at home, so we didn’t expect legions of trick-or-treaters.
I thought it would be different this year, and it was, but not in the way I hoped. I got fewer.
Two, to be precise. I was grateful that the kids didn’t arrive together. Both were toddlers accompanied by a lone parent. They were adorable: a boy dressed as Santa and a girl dressed as, well, I’m not sure, probably some cartoon character I don’t know.
By the time the first one showed up, 45 minutes into the customary 2-hour trick-or-treat window, I’d seen how this was going down. I gave each kid 25% of what was in my candy cauldron. Now I’m stuck with candy I don’t want and probably can’t give away since it’s not in a whole package.
If this presages the rest of the holiday season, I’m not looking forward to it.
