Trick or treating was fun until this happened...

 

So, it's taken me a few days to write this post. Still not sure if I'll actually publish it.  But I want to write about our Halloween night. If you're on my personal Facebook page, you already know about it.

As we've done for the past 3 years, we went trick-or-treating in Maria's neighborhood. She lives in a nice residential area, and a lot of the houses go all out for Halloween, so it's always lots of fun. To be honest, since E & I had pretty much been celebrating Halloween since the previous Friday, by this time, I was feeling sort of done with it. But once I started taking E around the neighborhood, I began enjoying myself and really getting into it.  My little Dorothy was raking in the sweet stuff and having a great time.  Then, toward the end of the evening, something really ugly, and totally unexpected happened. E and I were finishing up trick-or-treating and were headed back to Maria's. We were about a block from her house, and E was skipping ahead of me, when a car drove past us and a guy yelled out the window, "Look out for the n---!" and sped off. Aside from being shocked, I was instantly filled with rage. Luckily, E didn't really pick up on any of it. My eyes were filled with tears and I was fuming inside as I took E back to M's house, where our car was. Three days later, I still can't quite believe it happened. Did someone really shout the n-word out their car window to my daughter??? I find myself questioning if it really actually happened. Did I misunderstand what the guy said? It all happened so fast. But that incident (which I know in my heart really did happen), that only lasted about 5 seconds, infuriated me, and broke my heart. And I'm not sure what to do with it. As my sister said, this person is obviously damaged, angry, and ignorant. I know that it has nothing to do with my sweet, beautiful, strong little girl. But to be confronted with such raw hate and stupidity was just shocking and revolting. After it happened, I just felt sick, as I started wondering, how much more of this %$*# will she have to face in her lifetime? How many more times will someone call her that word? How long until she understands that there are people in this world who will not like her just because of the color of her skin? She lives in a world where she is loved, encouraged, and adored by all those around her. Halloween night was a stark reminder that there is an ugly side of life out there. I believe it's rare, and that this was an isolated (bizarre) incident, but that ugly side is out there. I want E to never be hurt. I want her to only be around people who treat her with love and kindness. I know I can't keep her in a bubble, I know that. But a big part of me would sure like to.