The Great Candy Race

The Great Candy Race
by Christy Olivera

Priorities change as we get older.  I don’t know how or when, but they do.
Sometimes it takes God’s whisper to make us take another look.

    Ah… the Greatest Candy Race happens every year, in October. I have great memories of making up a gypsy costume or being a hobo and the greatest part… seeing how full my pumpkin bucket got!  The Goal?  Candy!

    Fast forward… now I have my own children, and in the evening hours, kids everywhere still rush out to get candy.  Even if you take your kids to a local Hallelujah party instead, the goal is still CANDY!  The Great Race is on!

    Every year our town has trick or treating on “The Square”, until 5:00.  Running late after a crazy day at work, in a heated sweat and with frustrated tempers, at 4:40 we finally burst onto the bustling scene in full costume.  Rushing, I clutched Robin’s hand while my husband dragged along the Power Ranger.  Last years Spidey buckets clunked out rhythms on the sidewalk as we hurried our little guys from candy station to candy station.  In a feverish rush, we looked for our next candy stop as we raced against the clock.  After all, wasn’t this the good American family thing to do?

    Walking as fast as we could, we passed some friends and made a hurried remark, but all I could think of was, “gotta hurry,  gotta get the candy… “    Off we rushed. 

    Finally, we got to a stretch of sidewalk and I heard God whisper, “Watch this”.

    Coming toward us was a short Batman with steroid-esk muscles. Robin and Power Ranger excitedly talked to one another, and then as we got close they yelled out “Hi Batman!”   Batman was excited too, as he dance-skipped past us. There was a flurry of comments, turned heads and joyous jabbering as the boys discussed Batman. Then, we approached Spiderman. Again, Robin and Power Ranger discussed what they saw, talking excitedly as we passed. 

    Then it dawned on me.  The boys weren’t even worried about how full their little buckets got.  They were enjoying their journey!

    In awe, I realized that mini candy bars, nuggets of candy corn and a gazillion suckers weren’t even on their minds!  This was MY agenda… could it be that this great Race for all of this sugared bliss, was MY race? Kinda like getting the grocery shopping done, or the supper dishes washed and put away.  This was a race, with a finish line… to hurry up and get it done.  Or for me, maybe the finish line was really about stamping a good memory on the boys mind.  “There, I’ve completed MY agenda… I AM a good mom!  See?” 

    Tears in my soul, at what I had almost missed, I breathed a long breath and slowed my footsteps down.  Instead of dragging along my little Robin, I looked back at my husband and exchanged my own look of “Watch this”.   Our race ended right there and then.  Living in the journey began.

    We walked and chatted about all of the neat costumes, the boys stopped to talk to buddies from Church and school, and my husband and I exchanged smiles. 

    Did we get lots of candy?   I honestly couldn’t say.  But I do know that I am so thankful I heard God whisper , “Watch this”,  ‘cause I almost missed the journey.