‘Twas The Night Before Halloween

©Lisa Barker


‘Twas the night before Halloween and all through the
place not a candy was left how could Momma save face?

The kids were all tucked in their beds one through six
while Momma was meeting her chocolate fix. The
Hersheys were gone, the Snickers were, too, even the
eyeballs with caramel goo. Wrappers and boxes and
baggies galore littered the kitchen, the table and
floor.

When what to Mom’s wandering eyes should appear but
the floating Great Pumpkin with a glowering sneer.
Shrieking in fright to her bed she did fly begging
forgiveness for each pumpkin pie.

But the scene was a farce and not really real - the
result of a sugar high and not the real deal. Still,
the kids, now awake, cried out in shock when they
discovered the candy bowl empty of stock.

“Hey, Mother, what gives? Where’s the candy galore?
To the store you must go and get us some more!”

But none of the shops carried such folly. Instead
they were decked with red bows and green holly.

“Christmas already? But it’s still October!”

“We’re sorry ma’am, trick-or-treating is over.”

“Oh, you can’t mean that!” mom cried, and looked
hurt…as she throttled the clerk by the front of his
shirt. “My kids are at home and they’re counting on
me! Surely you must have some spooky candy!”

“Sorry again, ma’am, it really is true. In just a few
weeks it’ll be Easter anew.”

Sometimes it happens, that a mom goes berserk. It
could be at home or at church or at work. The
pressures of life begin to take toll and Mom will
assume an insane kind of role.

It happened that night, folks say in hushed whispers,
when Momma took hostages while still in her slippers.
“I want candy for goblins and I want it now! Bring me
lollies and taffy and bags of brown cows!”

Even the cops couldn’t reason with Mum and they had to
call Papa who came on the run. “Mother, dear Mother,
please try to calm down. There’s plenty of candy all
over town. Why, just as we speak the neighbors
prepare to hand out some treats or a hearty good
scare!”

“That’s right!” said dear Mom, “How could I have
forgotten? There’ll be plenty of candy to make their
teeth rotten. I just can’t explain it; can’t
understand why. I’d completely forgotten the night
that draws nigh.”

“Maybe you need to lay off the sweets. Let the kids
get dressed up and do tricks or treats.”

Mom nodded dumbly and said with a frown, “I guess I’ve
been foolish all over town. I just needed chocolate
to help me keep calm, so hopefully we’ll forget this
by the time it turns dawn.”

The town folks all said that they definitely did.
They couldn’t recall that mom just flipped her lid.
Well, who could blame her, who’d even dare? Look at
the kids that are in her good care. Sometimes they’re
sweet and a joy to behold, but sometimes don’t do what
they’ve simply been told.

It’s not easy on Mom, it’s not easy on Dad, to not go
berserk with the blessings they’ve had. So maybe we
all should—one night in October—allow moms and dads to
hand sanity over. Let them go nuts; let them go wild.
Remember it’s all for the sake of a child.

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