Move Over Santa, the Halloween Witch is Coming to Town!




 




 

I signed the contract of a lifetime at Halloween of 2007.  My two proud little Power Rangers, then 5 and 4, sat amongst the mounds of multi-colored candy, happily surveying the rewards of their recent Trick or Treating efforts.  At least that’s how they saw it. 

My take was a bit different.  I scrutinized the colorful piles of tooth decaying, hyperactivity-inducing sugar bombs that had been tossed excitedly from their bags to the living room carpet with anxiety and disbelief.  The potential sugar intake was enormous.  And these two children of mine would consume every last gram if I let them.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a couple pieces of candy now and then.  After all, I do indeed succumb to the undeniable chocolate cravings demanded by PMS more often than I care to admit.  But moderation is key.  There was no moderation in the piles of candy on my floor that evening.  I had to do something and I had to do it quickly.

“Look at all this candy!” I exclaimed.  “Esmerelda will be so proud of you!”  They both tore their gaze away from the candy stash and looked up questioningly at me. 

“Who’s Esmerelda?” they both asked at once.

The story came from my lips effortlessly, in a form and fashion that made me wonder if it had been heavenly inspired.  I explained that Esmerelda was the Halloween Witch.  “Ezzy” has green skin and purple hair and she wears the traditional black dress, hat and boots known to be worn by witches everywhere.  But her stockings are colorfully striped orange and yellow.  Esmerelda the Halloween Witch travels around the world on her Super Broom, complete with hemi engine, which moves her around the globe at a decent clip.  She collects Halloween candy and gives it to children who can’t, for whatever reason, Trick or Treat themselves.  Ezzy has a big heart and really wants to help those children. 

My children had forgotten the sea of candy they were sitting in by this time.  And frankly, I was impressing myself.  I don’t typically have the imagination for good storytelling. 

“Ezzy told me that if you guys helped her make Halloween special for those children, then something special, maybe even a toy, would come your way.” 

“I want to help!” screamed Elleyna.

“Me too!” cried Danny.      

They were on board now.  I told them that they could each keep ten pieces of candy which they could eat over the next few days.  The rest of their Trick or Treat candy had to be put in the brown shopping bag that I had placed in the middle of the candy-strewn floor.  Each child worked diligently at separating their candy into “gotta keep”, “like it” and “yuck” piles.  Their goal was the “Treasured Ten”.   When they were done and the brown bag was full of rejected candy, my daughter asked, “Now what?”.  I explained that that we each say a prayer for the children who don’t have it as lucky as we do.  And we did.  And then I told the kids that we had to set the bag on the step outside the front door so Esmerelda could pick it up while they slept. 

“How come Lexie and Riley don’t give candy to the Halloween Witch, Mommy?  It was my very astute daughter referring to her neighborhood friends.  Again, the answer came curiously easy. 

“Honey, there’s something called a ‘contract’.  A contract is an agreement between people or groups of people.  Mommy and Daddy signed a contract with Esmerelda.  We told her that we would help her help those children.  In return, she will do something special for you.  It’s possible that Riley and Lexie’s parents didn’t sign that contract.  Ezzy only comes to people who have contracts with her.” 

The explanation sufficed.  The bag went on the front door step.  The kids went to bed.  And I raided the gift box in the basement that I keep stocked with items that can serve as last minute gifts for forgotten birthdays and such. 

At 5 a.m. the next morning, my husband loaded the bag into the trunk of his car.  It was destined for his office and the colleagues with whom he works. 

 We placed one small gift for each child in the brown bag’s place on the front doorstep.  They woke up that morning and descended the stairs stumbling and running for the front door as if it were Christmas morning.  Move over Santa, the Halloween Witch is coming to town! 

The concept of Ezzy the Halloween Witch has served our family well for three years now.  To date, neither of my children has had a cavity.  They both believe that good hearts and good intentions do not have to be contained in a body with Hollywood good looks.  And every Halloween serves as another opportunity to say a prayer of good will for those who are not as fortunate as we are. 

My husband’s office mates give thanks as well, though I cannot attest to their cavity count.  Production is up, however, so I guess there’s something to be said about hyperactivity in the workplace. 

We have renewed our contract with Ezzy for yet another year.  The kids are thrilled.  So am I.