Every time I see grandparents with their children, my heart goes out.  I’d love nothing more than to listen to the megilla in costume with little children.  Not in a dry reading, but the humorous version of someone like Mendy Kahan, who reveals a different costume as the story focuses on a different character.  Or perhaps a Purim Shpiel  – my role as haman as a child left a mark on me.  I so enjoyed being part of the story that every aspect of the tale is burned in my character.  What is evil?  What is good?  When does Good become evil?  What is fate?  What is fated?  How can fate be changed?  How can we know what should be done?    

in any case, my kids won’t be exposed to the entire spectrum of human heroism, hatred, and deception.  They know the story, they have acted in the plays, but it has been softened severely – these kids have suffered enough.  

and we can’t celebrate with them.  They have to meet other children, with and sometimes without masks, and anyway, they have forgotten our significance in their lives and won’t run to us to show us their costumes, or tell stories about their successes or failures at the parties.