When I was growing up, I thought Halloween was about trying to stay warm outside at night while accumulating as many essentially free packets of Reese’s Pieces as possible.

 

Now that I am the mother of a food allergic child, I’m learning that it’s about a whole lot more.

 

It’s about finding a friend along the way, about running across neighbors’ lawns, about counting how many dogs there are in a single neighborhood, about the satisfying bag dump at night’s end, about Pez and pretzels and fruit snacks that wonderful grandmas provide, and about sharing your loot with family who didn’t make the rounds.

 

This year, I don’t think Jacob really understood that he was missing out on anything. Probably because there was so much awesome in his day. Only once did I explain that the candy we set aside to share would hurt him, to which he responded that the food at his grocery store would hurt me. Yes, I told him, it certainly would. There are some foods that are okay for some people and not for others, and it can go both ways.

I continue to pray that his allergies will resolve, and that in time, he will enjoy every part of Halloween—Reese’s Pieces included. But for now, being a well-loved, pretzel-eating, Pez-obsessed dragon dinosaur is enough.