The Time We Passed Out Zucchini For Halloween

We had just closed on our new home. Young, engaged, in love, that was us. We were completely engrossed in each other, so much so that we didn't even know what day it was most of the time and you'll soon see how that got us in trouble. We were stopping by for just a moment to pick something up from the house.

I remember thinking that there sure were a lot of kids walking around. Maybe if I hadn't been so totally focused on the excitement of our young love I would have noticed their costumes but we had bought a house and we were getting married so I guess nothing else seemed worth noticing at the time. We pulled into the garage. Our very own garage! This was particularly exciting for us since John had spent the last four or five years asking his roommates to move their cars from behind his so he could pull out.

As we stepped out of the car it finally dawned on my oblivious little mind. It was Halloween. Children had just seen us pull into the garage. I looked out the window. They were already coming to the door! What could we do? We couldn't turn them away, I was certain that if we did that we would have a reputation among our neighbors as the child haters before we even had a chance to move in.

I expressed my concerns to John and he seemed a bit less concerned about the matter than I was but he was also going to help his fiancé in any way he could. He said he had an idea and ran off to the backyard. The doorbell rang just as he was returning.

A zucchini. The previous owners had a vegetable garden and there was one zucchini left behind. What was I supposed to do with a zucchini on Halloween? But there was no time to think of anything better so in my panic I took the zucchini and answered the door. With a chorus of "trick or treat" we were greeted by a group of two or three children and their teenage guide. We explained that we didn't have anything with us and offered up our humble vegetable. I'd say the teenager did as good a job as anyone could have to hide her surprise from her face. "No thank you" was all they said before moving on to the next house.

We grabbed what we needed and ran out before anyone else could come. I may have over estimated the negative consequences of not having candy on Halloween but you can bet that we've never forgotten Halloween day since!

Image by Melanie Paxton Photography 2015