Our middle child played Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird a few years ago, when he was 10. It was a beautiful production, very spare and touching. For Peter, who grew up entirely in Maine, attending schools into which immigrants from dozens of countries are being flawlessly integrated, the idea of prejudice was new and shocking. It led to much conversation about my childhood in the South and new understandings of how cruel people can be to other people.

This Halloween I learned how deeply these lessons took with him, got to see what kind of young man has resulted. His birthday was on Saturday, and he invited ten friends to come over on Sunday and celebrate with trick-or-treating and pizza. One of the girls he invited is not well-liked among the other kids, and several pressured him to un-invite her; otherwise they wouldn’t attend. He stood his ground, and although that meant a couple of boys did not come, in the end we had a house full of happy kids, especially the little blonde girl dressed as a Red Sox cheerleader.

Look, I don’t want to tell you how to raise your children, but…

Also, I don’t think it’s a coincidence you’re pondering your child’s future on All Hallow’s Election Eve. Let’s hope the best candidate wins tomorrow night (wink, nudge)