This virus is not giving up. The more we wish it gone, the more it brings out the big guns. This sucker is here to stay! Just because we are tired of it, does not mean it’s tired of us. In fact, I feel like it’s just settling in and getting ready to make itself at home.

Our numbers in Germany are skyrocketing. Even here in my teeny, tiny village we are feeling the crunch. Every community around us has someone bitten by the bug. It’s just a matter of time before it comes home to roost.

Our local, state and federal governments are fighting it with all the tools they can muster. And still trying to keep the economy going. It’s a delicate balance. No matter their choices, rulings, decisions, there are unhappy people. People are ornery.

This virus doesn’t care how ornery you are. It’s going to come everyone’s way. Whether it bites you hard or bites you gently is entirely up in the air. I don’t like being bitten. Not even gently. So when we heard that Lockdown “lite” II was coming on Monday, November 2, we doubled-down on a Lockdown Halloween.

On base trick or treating was canceled weeks ago. So was our unit’s trunk or treat. I knew this was coming. My brain had been cranking like crazy. While my kids have been troopers, making the best of a tough situation, canceling Halloween was the last straw. I’m a Halloween bug. My kids are Halloween bugs. Canceling Halloween was not an option.

Dane came up with the plan to decorate our rooms (we compromised on doors), all wear costumes, and take turns trick-or-treating at each door. Since there’s only six of us (me, Dave, Tess, Dane, Christian & Alana) that would mean multiple turns for each “kid”. It was better than nothing.

And then I saw on Facebook the suggestion to hide the Halloween candy. Like at Easter. Now Tess & Alana seemed interested. I kept thinking. And thinking about my costume. And then it hit me. Glow-in-the-dark face paint & black lights. Turn of the lights & have a mini rave (my inner 80’s child making a rare appearance).

Dave & I stocked up on glow-in-the-dark candy, not recommended. It barely glowed/barely held a glow. On Halloween eve everyone disappeared into their rooms or bathrooms. The glow-in-the-dark paints were feverishly passed around through cracks in doors with squeals of “don’t look at me“.

We hid the candy in our empty, sad, basement. Turned off all the lights, and even flipped the circuit breakers to prevent cheating. Cranked up the boombox with Iron Butterflies In A-Gadda-Da Vida and let them loose.

There were oodles of screams of delight! Fighting for candy. A race to find the skull stuffed with none-glow-in-the-dark-candy. Even Christian, an old man at 28, got into the fun. In fact, so much fun was had that they proclaimed the Best Halloween Ever.