Some People Do Love Fruit Snacks

It was Halloween night and I had emptied the contents of three bags of candy into the large mixing bowl to place by the front door, ready for trick-or-treaters. Reese's cups and Kit Kat Bars and Almond Joys all jumbled together in a swirl of blue and orange. But when the third person glanced at my offering and commented that it "didn't look like much," I started to get worried. What if I hadn't bought enough candy?

I remembered the large box of Welch's fruit snacks I had in the pantry for the kids' lunches. The box was so large that there was still a great many fruit snacks left and my kids were sick of them. They were individually packaged. They were sweet. Surely they'd be fine as a trick or treat item. I tossed them into the bowl and quickly filled it up, happy that I had had such an ingenious idea.

My kids walked by, glanced at the bowl and moaned. "Fruit snacks? You're giving fruit snacks for Halloween?" They were mortified. (Just another way I have/will embarrass them.) But I was resolute and put the bowl in its spot by the door, ignoring the nay-sayers.

And yes, some kids were visibly dismayed by the fruit snacks. I'm sure there will be some who squint at our house next year and ask "Wasn't that the house where that lady gave out fruit snacks?" Then they will roll their eyes at each other and maybe even bypass our house altogether. (Though I doubt it-- I also gave out chocolate.)

But some kids came to the door, saw the fruit snacks in the bowl and squealed, "Fruit snacks! Can I have fruit snacks?" extending their little hands toward the bowl with glee. My only regret was that the nay-sayers in my life were nowhere around to witness this. Some people actually wanted fruit snacks. They liked fruit snacks. Fruit snacks-- for whatever reason-- made them happy.

This made me think about selling your junk at a yard sale and having people pay for it, delighted to get what you can't get rid of fast enough. Or that guy you dated finding someone to marry even though you thought that wouldn't be possible in a million years. And that book you hated that your friend just loved, or vice versa.

Here's my point, because I do have one: Some people do love fruit snacks. Does everyone think it's a perfect item for the trick or treat bowl? No! (Just ask my kids.) But some do. And that's what counts. I'm keeping that in mind as I write. My writing might be the Kit Kats that everyone raves over or it might be the fruit snacks that just appeals to a few. Either way, it will make someone happy. And that's why I do what I do.