Trick-or-Treat

It was 8:45 on Halloween. The doorbell hadn't rung for almost an hour. And then it did. We paused Survivor, and my daughter got up to greet the trick-or-treaters. She had enjoyed her door-answering responsibility all night, and I was glad to let her get up one more time.

Peeking through the living room window, she recognized a life-long friend at the door, dressed as Kim Kardashian.

She opened the door, and I could hear another voice, in addition to my daughter's and Kim's. There was a little chatting about the nice weather and what the girls had acquired in their travels. "There was a house handing out apples. Honeycrisp ones though, which are amazing, so I guess if I wash it I can eat it?"

My daughter then offered as much of our loot as the girls wanted to take. We didn't have as many kids as usual, and so generosity was in order.

"Are you sure? Thanks so much," Kim Kardashian exclaimed.

"Ugh, my mom won't let me eat most of it anyway," replied the other voice, which I was still trying to place.

"Take the airheads" was my daughter's quick response. "They're great for low blood sugars!"

Now, of course, I was able to narrow down which friend was accompanying Kim Kardashian on her rounds.

"Ha! Yes- I will! My mom buys terrible glucose tabs at Costco. I can't stand them."

Now Kim Kardashian's friend has a nice stash of airheads for her low blood sugar needs.

Who says Halloween and diabetes can't go well together?

Halloween Lows

Dear Parents of Trick-Or-Treaters-With-Diabetes,

Please make sure your child has plenty of fast-acting carbohydrates available when trick-or-treating on Halloween.



 

'Wait...what?' you may ask, 'but it's trick-or-treating! There are fast acting carbohydrates at every door!'

Trust me. There are not. We've been there not once but twice. Once we were unprepared and the second time just underprepared.

The year she was 6, my daughter's blood sugar was over 150 when she left the house, perfect for a little walking followed by a sample or two from houses of people we knew.  We went around the corner to meet the neighbors. There was a little running around in the yard until the youngest neighbor was ready to go.  By house #3 my kid was low.  In her bucket were fritos, a spider ring and a 3 carb dumdum pop.  Houses #4 and #5 offered Hershey's kisses and tattoos.  We had to drag our party back to our house for juice before proceeding.

 A few years later we were trick-or-treating  in a friend's neighborhood.  We'd covered a couple of blocks when suddenly my kid was not just low but in the 40's.  I had one juice box with me, having assumed that would be enough, since we'd gain a stash of candy as we went.  Despite having visited a couple dozen houses, my little witch had received almost exclusively peanut-butter cups, snickers and chips, all members of the 'slow-acting don't eat this if you're low' carbohydrate category. It was dark and difficult to see into her friends' plastic pumpkins to ferret out all of the available smarties and nerds, which she downed in rapid succession as we continued on our route.

So take it from a mother who has seriously considered asking for orange juice in lieu of the spider ring, assume nothing; except that you're taking a long walk, at night, probably at an hour when exercise is unusual.  Bring the juice.

Halloween is Fun

Anyone who tells you Halloween with diabetes is no big deal is stretching the truth.  Ditto for anyone who tells you Halloween with diabetes is the worst thing ever.  It's somewhere in between.  Here are some suggestions based on how we've tackled the Halloween challenge over the years:

Make the costume a big deal.  I made several costumes for my daughter over the years even though I do not sew and have never been the crafty type.  But she got to be exactly what she wanted to be despite there being no commercially sold options.  And she knew it was a very special and unique situation for mom to have a needle and thread in hand.

Decorate your house, get some cute Halloween books, and enjoy the silly-spooky parts of the season.

Boo!

Participate in Halloween events.  Carve a pumpkin.  Go in costume to the Halloween story time at the library, or the town Halloween parade.  Host a Halloween party. 

Go trick-or-treating.  And point out that the fun of trick-or-treating is not only in the candy, but in walking around the neighborhood after dark with family or friends.  It's showing off your costume, and seeing what the littler or bigger kids on your block are wearing too.

Have a candy plan.  It doesn't matter what it is, just have one so expectations are managed. Ours (yours will be different) is this: 

Eat a few pieces on Halloween night- she's always low from walking the neighborhood so the amount will vary, but she usually needs some starburst or skittles to keep her going and has a couple of chocolate things upon returning home.  Save one piece per how many years old you are to eat slowly over the coming week or two- this is a completely arbitrary rule I invented when she was about 7, but it has remained the law of the land.  Keep the snack stuff- pretzels, chips, etc.  Pre-braces, also keep the sugarless gum.  Give mom and dad a few of their favorites and give grandpa all of the york peppermint patties.  Turn in the rest to a local dentist who will pay $2 per pound and who will then ship it to the troops oversees.

Yes...the whole season is a one landmine after another of candy and cupcakes and donuts punch that looks like blood and more candy.  And when you live a life of 'everything in moderation,' it means you'll find yourself saying 'no' on a regular basis.  We've found, though, that saying 'yes' to all of the other fun stuff can soften the 'no' quite a bit.

Halloween: The After-Math

Halloween

No...this post isn't late.  It's only the day after Halloween at our house.  Our sense of time and connection to the rest of the world continues to be altered a bit from the after-effects of Sandy.

Glad for the opportunity to trick or treat, my daughter the witch met up with a blue and green striped monster and a werewolf for a some fun last night.

As is our tradition, we came home and sorted the winnings into four piles:

From left to right, we begin with the dish of candy to keep and enjoy over the next week.  Next is the container of fast-acting carbs like smarties, sweet tarts and nerds.  Third is the container of pretzels and chips, great to throw in the lunch box or to snack on.  Last is the bag from which my husband and I will pull a few favorites before the rest gets donated.

I often get asked if Halloween is hard for my child because of diabetes.  I usually have two answers.  First, I clarify that she can enjoy candy in moderation.  Then I talk about all of the other fun aspects of Halloween like costumes, pumpkins, being a little spooked, enjoying friends, and walking around after dark.  Last night, we walked around a neighborhood which had only had power back for about 24 hours.  People were so happy to have the kids come by and to catch up with their neighbors. Doing something so fun and frivolous after the week we'd had made this Halloween extra special.