Confessions of a Candy Addict

I have a love-hate relationship with Halloween. I love it because, as an elementary music teacher, I get to sing fun Halloween songs with all of my cute students.

I hate it because it reveals my darker alter ego: Becky the Candy Addict.

I have always had a sweet tooth. I probably inherited it from my grandmother who always ate her dessert first.

Last month, I went on a sugar fast and limited my dairy intake to only non-fat varieties (I already eat mostly vegetarian) right before my annual doctor's appointment. My numbers were fantastic this year, and I felt really good too.

But then Halloween rolled around, and the candy showed up in the faculty room.

The faculty and staff put on an event called "Ghouls at School," and the students return to school in the evening to trick-or-treat at all of the teachers' classrooms. A few hours before, a huge box of candy is delivered to our doors, and we, teachers, have been know to partake before the kids show up.

The morning after Ghouls at School, I found two of my choir students pointing to my trash can with looks of amazement.

"Mrs. Duggan, look at all of the candy wrappers!" one of them exclaimed.

"Um . . . yeah?"

"Have the kids eaten that much candy already this morning?" she asked. (Several of my choir students had smuggled candy into the music room that day.)

"I think that may have been from last night . . . You know, the teachers eat candy too sometimes."

And by "teachers," I meant "your music teacher, Mrs. Duggan."

"You guys ate a lot."

I sighed, "I know . . ."

That afternoon, I realized I had a problem. I was having a pleasant conversation with our custodian, but I wasn't listening.

All I could think about was, "When is he going to leave so that I can eat all of that leftover candy in my desk?" I couldn't eat it in front of him because that would be embarrassing.

When I walked out to my car at the end of the day, I thought for sure that people could tell how much candy I had eaten that day just by looking at me. I felt ashamed. So I did what any reasonable person would do.

I took the rest of the candy home to my husband.

I may look healthy in my mountain biker costume, but that pumpkin full of candy was not safe around me. My husband, Dan, and I have already decided we will start avoiding sugar again the day after Halloween.

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