Happy Halloween! I suspect it is only in the USA that Halloween has taken on such huge proportions. It's the number two holiday for decoration sales. There are probably a lot of interesting psychological reasons why Americans are drawn to a holiday all about appearing to be someone else; but that's a post for a different forum.

As a person with type 2 diabetes, I really dislike the candy aspect of the celebration. In all honesty, I really LIKE the candy aspect, but dislike having to try and restrain myself. It didn't used to be ALL candy. Remember apples? But then the urban myth of the razor blade in the apple started and that was the end of apples for trick or treat.

Remember "Trick or Treat for UNICEF"? I haven't see that for several years.

Recently, the microwave popcorn companies are making a run at the treat market, with small, inexpensive bags of popcorn decorated with a Halloween theme. Some stores carry stickers as treats. I can easily imagine what the kids say about these homes. I bet they end up with more toilet paper in their trees on November 1st.

So, Halloween is all about costumes and candy and that's not likely to change anytime in the near future. All that's left is how we deal with it. I did not buy candy for trick or treaters until last week. It's gone, so I bought some more last night and threatened my family not to open the bag until tonight. Whatever is left tonight, I will have my husband hide in his office for him to eat. My son will be encouraged to eat all my favorites out of his haul first; then the rest will be stashed for him to pick a piece or two a day from. That will make it easy to take half of it to work for the candy dish on someone else's desk.

If all else fails, I still have an insulin pen. I really don't want to sabotage my diet, so I will take whatever precautions necessary to keep this candy out of sight, out of mind.

I'd like to take a moment to salute the parents of type 1 diabetes patients out there. I cannot imagine how difficult this holiday is for you and your families. You ROCK, not just for dealing with Halloween but for all that you do each and every day.