Neighbor Logan (9) makes Halloween worthwhile. He came dashing through the rain after school, proudly wearing his costume. I kept myself from asking what character he was, because I would probably have lost stature in his eyes for not knowing. I’m short enough, as it is.

His eyes zeroed in on the bowl of candy by the door, only for a nanosecond, before he looked at my face. Now if that isn’t self-control, I don’t know what is. Take a proud bow, Shawn and Bob, for training in good manners.

I was surprised that Logan took off his shoes, because I thought he would have too many other things to do than spend time here. He said he could stay for a little while. We had a drink and played with a balloon. I used my hands; he used his feet. As he bounced around, he shared that he had broken a record of the school. If I understood him correctly, that school has existed for 38 years. I don’t know what the previous record was, but Logan ran a mile in 6 minutes, 11 seconds. No wonder we thought he ran very fast in our yard! He’s a winner, that’s for sure.

I had two items for him to find today. Usually I hide a granola bar for him, but this time he was to look for two packs of orange things. He quickly found the faux-Lego pieces in the dining room. His choice was to play with them here or take them home. Home won. When he left, I put the blocks in a bag and dumped all the candy in, as well. Some day he might realize there were hugs included with every piece.