Chocolate season is here!

"I never met a chocolate I didn't like." - Deanna Troi, Star Trek: The Next Generation

There are tell-tale signs of the end of summer: colder nights, inopportune commuting delays due to school buses and the appearance of massive bags of Halloween chocolate. The end of summer means the beginning of fall, one step closer to the blistering winds and snow drifts of winter. But it's not only a sign of climatic change, it's the start of the chocolate season. Ah, yes, the chocolate season is upon us.

Chocolate season runs approximately eight months of the year from the first appearance of Halloween candy in late August through to the sale of Easter chocolate in April. In between Halloween and Easter, there is Christmas chocolate and Valentine's day chocolate; individually wrapped bits of temptation. 

Before the cartoonish (our pumpkin is carved in the likeness of Lightening McQueen) jack O' lantern is disposed of in the green bin, the leftover Halloween chocolate goes on sale and the Christmas chocolate arrives on the shelf of every Walmart, Costco, grocery store, dollar store and pharmacy. On boxing day, the Christmas chocolate goes on sale overlapping the arrival of Valentine's Day chocolate. After the romance of Valentine's Day is done, chic and cheap chocolate goes on sale with Easter chocolate. Finally, once the last chocolate bunny and eggs are sold at rock bottom prices, we are blessed with a four month reprieve from the chocolate bombardment.   

Damn you little Halloween chocolate bars, Christmas Santas, balls and bells, Valentine's day hearts and chocolate Easter bunnies. How I fool myself into thinking that I can eat just one chocolate per day and eat the 96 pieces over a three and a half month time span. Instead I consume you by the fistful, hoping that each time the cursed box/bag/net will finally be empty.

But this year is different you wretched chocolate. I ignored your summons in the store, I delayed buying you as long as possible, and in the end, I completely ignored you and bought licorice for the little trick or treaters instead.

Last year was the start of change and this year was easier; slowly but surely your grip on me is weakening.  Instead of an eight month season, it's morphing into four separate chocolate events; and perhaps in time,  chocolate will be just chocolate and no longer an event...

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