I took my dog trick or treating this year.
No – I wasn’t the creepy adult that took her dog to people’s houses so I could get candy. This was SPECIFICALLY dog trick or treating.
When I saw THIS posted on a local Facebook page, I kinda chuckled first:

Amazing, right? (I cut out the phone numbers because the event is over and I don’t want you bothering these good people) How cute is that?
I wasn’t going to go at first, because well… I didn’t want to be corny.
But you know what? SCREW IT. I believe SO MUCH in the good of COMMUNITY. This wasn’t about me – it was about supporting a local animal rescue, and getting out to meet my neighbors.
So I strapped some lady bug wings on my dog, and off we went.
SHE WAS IN DOGGY HEAVEN.
She met SO MANY new friends!
LOOK AT THESE CUTE NEW BUG FRIENDS!

ELMO!

THIS adorable little pair:

And OF COURSE:

Can you take the cute?
I couldn’t. I was “Squeeeeing” and “awwwwing” all day.
And when we got home, Stella seemed legitimately PROUD of her haul!

But here’s the thing. At the end of the day… this has NOTHING to do with dog snacks.
It has everything to do with returning to the America that made us great.
An America built on community, and kindness, and REAL human relationships.
I stopped to chat with so many people I didn’t know – and might never have met, that all lived within a few miles of me. We didn’t talk politics. We talked about our homes, and our neighborhoods, and what was going on in town. Now I know their names, their faces, and their good hearts.
THAT is the America I want to get back to. I went not because my dog needed more treats (she’s spoiled rotten as it is) but because I want to be part of something greater than myself. I want to be part of my town. I want to know that my neighbors have my back – and I want them you know I have theirs.
These are divided times. These are frightening times.
My solution? Community. We need to come back together as friends, family, and neighbors.
…And strapping some ladybug wings on my dog sure felt like a start.