For most kids, Halloween is a fun-filled holiday trademarked by trick-or-treating, adorably creepy costumes and copious amounts of candy. The one night a year that parents let their little ones stock up on as many Reese’s, Skittles and Snickers as the generous neighbors will allow is a memory that is favorably seared in the mind of every child. Or, so foster mom, Amy Beth Gardner, thought.
Facebook/Photo courtesy of Arlyne VanHook
Until her 5-year-old and 9-year-old foster children enlightened her to the horrific events that unfolded on the only Halloween they ever got to celebrate—if you could call it that.
In a viral Facebook post, Amy Beth tells the stomach-sickening story of how her now-adopted daughters were forced to eat the wrappers after an adult cruelly ate every last piece of their candy in front of their faces. The scars that moment left on her little girls’ hearts totally broke Amy Beth, who made it a point to earn back their shattered trust ONE piece of candy at a time.
Facebook/Photo courtesy of Arlyne VanHook
Read the account of Amy Beth Gardner and her daughters’ abuse over Halloween candy
Three years later, Amy Beth’s diligence in mending their hearts back together through a simple Halloween tradition led to a miraculous change in her youngest daughter that manifested in the SWEETEST way possible—leaving this mom with a poignant life lesson that she just couldn’t afford to keep to herself:
“My youngest daughter was five years old when she came to us via foster care. As we approached our first Halloween together, I noticed that she and her nine year old sister froze in fear each time I mentioned the upcoming holiday. I finally asked the girls if they had ever experienced Halloween before coming to live with us and was horrified by their answer. They took turns telling me about how they had once been given candy for Halloween only to have an adult take the candy and eat it in front of them while making them watch. When the girls began to cry, the adult handed them the brown paper wrappers that had been holding the chocolate peanut butter cups and forced them to eat the empty wrappers — a cruel way to give the girls a literal taste of what they were missing out on that Halloween evening.
