Goodbye Candy?

One of life’s most painful rites of passage is letting go of Trick-Or-Treating. I’ve said before that its one of my most favorite holidays, and that holds true, but the looming fact that one day I’ll have to give it up is uber depressing.
This year my immune system scammed me out of the deal. I had strep throat that was progressively getting worse because I left it untreated, and in fact was working myself harder than usual in spite of the stinging pain in my throat. By Saturday it caught up to me so much that I could no longer deny it. I was exhausted and in pain even though I’d started antibiotics already; so much for a rainy, windy, cold night of collecting free candy.
I already had my costume all planned out, and haven’t had the heart to accept that I missed Halloween and put it away. I also didn’t carve the pumpkin, but that, unlike my imperishable costume, is about to rot a whole through my dining room table. I can’t wait until next year and pretend this Halloween never happened, which means I have to accept that it’s not the end of the world to miss my candy snatching, feet aching tradition.
Next year I’ll probably go out anyway. My costume will probably still fit and I’m likely to look just as old or just as young depending on how high I make my voice and how eager I make my face when I say, “Trick-Or-Treat!”. But how long after that can I keep going? Mrs. Walega says she’ll give candy to anyone in costume, no matter what the age, but no way is she accepting the “This hat is my costume.” gig. Other teachers, however, talk about how we’re too old in high school to go trick or treating. So which is it? I don’t need other people to validate my opinion, but I do need an appropriate amount of research on who will actually give me candy when I ask for it.
Two years ago I probably should have known I was growing out of Trick-Or-Treating when I asked for a water bottle instead of the unopened, chilled cans of Pepsi one house had on their front lawn. Knowing what is good for you, what you need, and wanting something with no flavor but major health benefits takes a lot of the magic out of All Hallows Eve. So I don’t know how I feel about my own growing up right now, but I do know that I love Baby Ruth and Three Musketeers (who by the way always have adult women in their “guilt free” commercials) with all my heart.