Tricky Treats.

We are fast approaching that most dreaded of holidays for diabetics — Halloween. Candy is everywhere. On every shelf at every store. At every cash register. It taunts me with its come-hither chocolatey or sugar-coated goodness.

To buy, or not to buy — that is the question. Do I buy candy so I can pass it out to the gremlins who come calling and be remembered as the cool lady that hands out stellar goods? Or rather, do I refrain, turn off the porch light, draw the curtains and hunker down in front of the TV pretending not to be home (even though my car is in plain sight) leaving neighborhood children to brand me a Halloween Scrooge?

I tend to rest on the side of not indulging in candy purchases. I'm sure the munchkins will get plenty of treats. I know that if I buy candy, I'll have it left over and then will be tempted to eat it. I mean, who throws perfectly good candy away? I could buy healthy snacks (and those would be?) or pass out string cheese (my new protein-y snack of choice). Can you imagine the looks I would get if I passed out string cheese? I would be labeled some kind of sick-o. I'm sure of it. Plus, string cheese is not cheap.

And then there's the Halloween after-math. The bowls of Snickers and M&Ms that appear on the break-room table. The candy dish at the front counter. The desk drawers full of Twizzlers. Candy is so readily available in the Post-Halloween workplace that you almost trip over it on your way to the bathroom.

So, I'll abstain from candy this Halloween. I'm going to go hang out on the porch with my new great-nephew and help him pass out candy to his neighbors. He's only five months old and hasn't mastered Halloween candy distribution methods yet. He'll be dressed as a raccoon, and if you 've ever seen this little munchkin, you'll understand that hanging with him will be plenty enough treat for me.