Let my people go.

Several years ago, before I had any children of my own, I was at a playground with a friend and her two kids--a daughter and a son.  The girl was eating some candy and her brother wanted some of it. Before long, they were arguing. He wanted some and she didn't want to share.

Their mom said something like, "Andrew, you can have some candy when we get home. There will be more candy at home."

After a pause she added wryly, "There will always be more candy."

A young girl nearby, four or five years old and wearing a floor-length black dress, chose this moment to show that she had been listening to the conversation. The black lace around the bottom of her dress dragged the ground as she boldly walked toward us. "No, there won't," she said, standing with one hand on her hip. "When Jesus comes again there won't be any candy." 

The girl's father, hovering nearby, had apparently also been listening. He stepped closer to his daughter, a show of support. We looked at him and he was helpful enough to explain: "Candy is one of the plagues."

At this point, my friend felt it was about time to go.

I had a great time telling husband guy about this. We wondered together what they could possibly have meant. Does it show religious ignorance on my part if I was somewhat baffled about candy as one of the plagues? We immediately thought of the Biblical plagues of Egypt when Moses was persuading pharaoh to let the people go. We talked through those, saying, "I can see how candy fits, you know, water turned to blood, flies, lice, boils, candy, locusts." Totally.

And now, years later, we still sometimes find ourselves saying it to each other with exaggerated emphasis, "Candy is one of the plagues, you know." 

But I no longer find it baffling. I have no doubt: candy is a plague on this house.