Photo courtesy of Scatter Jar

Last Halloween, Jon and I lived on The Plaza, where we had hundreds of trick-or-treaters excitedly thrust buckets and pillowcases in our faces. By the end of the night, we’d handed more than 30 bags of candy out to witches, ninjas, princesses, and superheroes.

Because the weather was so nice, we sat out on the front steps with our Panthers bucket filled with candy. By 8:30 p.m., our number of trick-or-treaters was rapidly dwindling, and around 9 p.m., we were wondering whether to go back inside when we saw a family of four walking down the street, the parents looking desperately for porch lights that were still on.

As they walked up to our house, I noticed the mom was in a chef’s costume. “A chef, cool!” I said. She told us she was in culinary school and had actually just gotten out of class, so she left on her chef’s whites for trick-or-treating. She looked exhausted, yet here she was, holding hands with her homemade Bumble Bee Transformer, clearly feeling how her schedule had jeopardized the kids’ Halloween.

We watched as they walked down the block a bit farther, only to turn around after realizing most of the street was clean out of candy. Jon and I have made sure to save some of our favorite treats for ourselves, so our bowl was still half full as they passed back our way. I ran out after them to pour half of the bowl into each child’s bag. Their mother’s look of relief has stayed with me, especially recalling it now as a mother myself.

Tonight, as with any holiday, please remember to take care of those in the service and hospitality industry making your night special. You never know what they’re sacrificing to work so the rest of us can play. —Kristen Wile

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