We're All Candy Corn

I guess we had about a hundred trick or treaters Halloween night. They didn't start showing up until after 6:00, and I had a moment (or three) of panic that we were going to wind up with a half ton of candy and no one to take it away before I ate it all, but once the doorbell rang, we were inundated for a full two hours of nonstop candy swaps.

We had lots of superheros and princesses, the pudgiest and cutest little Wonder Woman who was too short to reach our doorbell, some older kids who were still trying their best to get into the Halloween spirit, and Henry, a fierce little pirate who was trick or treating for his first time. He deemed our front steps Mount Everest, but was so cute we brought the candy down to him and got an enthusiastic "arrgh!" in return.

I filled our candy bowl with all kinds of treats, including stickers and rings and bubbles and kaleidoscopes. The main reason for this, besides the fact that it's fun, is that I can't eat those things so they are less tempting to have around my house leading up to Halloween. Much to my relief, the kids got super excited over the trinkets, especially the bubbles, and enthusiastically rifled through our selection to pick out their goodies.

It kind of amazed me at how different the tastes in candy ran. Some kids would eagerly paw for the Starburst, while their friend would openly moan, "Eww, I hate Starburst! Gross!" One tween asked if she could have extra Lemonhead candies because they were her favorite, and I happily gave her two fistfuls because they were less than popular with most of our other crowd. Another kid specifically asked if we had candy corn and was utterly disappointed in telling us that not many people were handing out candy corn this year but he loved it.

I think we can all admit that candy corn is a controversial candy. People either love it or detest it and declare it inedible, but it almost always elicits a strong reaction from either camp. My friend Ellen was just saying a few weeks ago that it should be against the law, that's it's a hateful confection that is neither real candy nor real corn. And then we had a candy corn super fan practically begging house to house for the stuff. Funny how our tastes can be so different, isn't it?

I don't mind telling you that I had one of those "nobody likes me, everybody hates me, guess I'll go eat worms" kind of weeks last week. I cried more than once, feeling lonely and unpopular and just plain down-and-out. Then a funny thing occurred to me Halloween night: we're all candy corn. Some days people can't get enough of us, enthusiastically singing our praises. Other days, they brush right by us and we're left feeling like the proverbial bottom of the candy bowl. It happens to everyone, whether they want to admit it or not. Sweet to some, unsavory to others, it's just a fact of life.

One of the Real Housewives of New York has a tag line: "I'm an acquired taste. If you don't like me, acquire some taste." I don't know if I'm ready to be as bold as that, but I'm not taking it personally any more either. You won't be everyone's cup of tea, and that's okay. Let those suckers walk around thirsty. And maybe start looking at candy corn a little differently from now on, too.