Trick or Treat at an End

This year marks the end of an era for the Grumpy household: son #2 has finally reached that age (12) where it's no longer cool to go door-to-door in the neighborhood begging trick or treating for candy. It was his own decision (maybe helped along by Mom's promise that he could have all of the candy that we don't distribute to the beggars trick or treaters).

In a way, it's a sad time for Grumpy, as I've always escorted my kids on this annual quest for treats: From when they were little tykes, and the best we could do was five or six homes before they were too tired, to more recently when we trekked up and down the hills of the neighborhood in an hours-long and seemingly never-ending quest for "the good stuff."

No more walking through the 'hood with the other dads, discussing important world topics (or, more importantly, which home is sure to have replacement beers for those that we've already downed). No more having to carefully plan the route so as to pass by our home approximately mid-way through the evening (to drop-off the first full bag of goodies and make room for more). That's all over now. I may miss it.