Braces for Halloween and a Formal Apology

Halloween brings out the scary in me.

And, no, I’m not talking about a scary costume. What’s scary is that I morph into someone I don’t even recognize.

Allow me to explain. For the rest of the year I (mostly) avoid sugar. I don’t put sugar in my cappuccino or my tea. I don’t eat sugary cereals. I am careful with desserts.

But on Halloween … I go all out.

I have to try one of everything. And sometimes two, or three. I am not joking. I once wrote a Halloween blog post entitled “What not to eat on Halloween”, which basically listed every piece of candy I ate that night. The title of the post was a joke (ha, ha) … What not to eat on Halloween? The candy wrappers. That was my lesson.

Then there was the one year we bought two huge bags of candy (for a total of 10 pounds) and hid them high on a shelf in the laundry room until Halloween night. Except that on Halloween night ... Where's the Candy? Only 5 pounds left, and this was before trick-or-treating. Now, in my defense I didn’t eat all that candy, and there were other guilty parties involved, but still.

Another year was the tootsie roll year. I don't know what-in-the-heck was wrong with me, but I think I ate ... well, I won't tell you how many tootsie rolls I ate, and I wasn't picky: the big fat ones, the long skinny ones, and the small bite-sized ones all called my name. According to Google it takes a 1/4 mile run or 550 steps to burn off one small Tootsie Roll, so it took quite a while to burn off that tootsie roll binge.

Last year, to help me get a grip, I did something smart. Well, brilliant, if you ask me. On Halloween morning, bright and early, I scheduled a dental appointment. Why would I do such a thing? Well, let me tell you. After cleaning, scraping, buffing, and flossing I wasn't letting anything near those pearly whites.

I was the Queen of Moderation, the Resistor of Temptation, and the Epitome of Steely Resolve.

This year I decided to do something similar except instead of scheduling an appointment with my dentist, I made one with our orthodontist. Yes, I am an adult who is getting braces (or rather,  invisalign). So after enduring all the prep work before getting my invisalign trays on Dec. 2 (a consultation, an x-ray, and in-depth photos) I am very conscious of my teeth and have no desire for any candy. Brilliant, yes?

Finally, here is a totally last minute Halloween costume formula, which works whether you're eating candy or not ...

formal attire + I'm sorry name tag = a formal apology

(ha! get it?)

(btw, those are my mother's wedding gloves)