Today was the culmination of over two months of “I’m gonna be a…..” and “Do you think we can find a ______ so I can be _______ for Halloween?”
Two months.
And now it’s done. Tomorrow I will put away my bargain jack o’lanterns and the leftover treats until next year. (That’s the beauty of the Teal Pumpkin Project and non-food treats–the leftovers keep beautifully!) The costumes will be washed and hung up or tossed in the dress up bin.
Our Princess knew pretty much from the get go that she wanted to be a witch. She had a dress that we got last year when she thought she might want to be Bellatrix Lestrange. Now was all about accessorizing. Some bright striped socks with WITCH written down the side. A fun little broom and gloves with long fingernails on them. She was so excited she got dressed up by 2 pm. Cooter, on the other hand, has been most indecisive. This was the year we discovered that we didn’t need to purchase him the one piece whole body suits anymore. Each one we tried pulled in areas that don’t need pulling. In the end, it was decided he’d either wear one of his old Star Wars dress up outfits or this one piece Superman top/cape thing or–and this was my favorite–be a Hobbit. He asked about being one two months ago, and I thought that would be so much fun. I even found a top for him to wear and planned to cut an old pair of khakis just so, but no. He was most comfortable wearing a t-shirt and jeans with his Superman top/cape on.
And so it was.
There is something so magical about dressing up and becoming someone else for a night, isn’t there? There must be or else this holiday would have long become nothing but a blip in the history books. It’s about imaginations and taking on a different form. I even got into the fun of it this year.
I love Raggedy Ann. It goes way back. So when I found a beautiful brand new, unopened Raggedy Ann costume at the GW Boutique, I got it. I still wasn’t sure if I was going to dress up, but it was too fabulous to leave there. When I got it home and opened everything up, I was amazed by the detail–the dress and apron, the bloomers, and a hat with red yarn hair. There were even socks–only, of course, there were THREE and not the proper two because Someone has a sense of humor and knows my frustration with socks who’ve lost their mates. And so this one came with one what had done just that–lost its mate. *sigh*
After Mess Cat, Leroy, and Shaker got here to join in the fun, I finally decided that YES, I would dress up. After all, Halloween is once a year, and a year’s a long time to regret something that would be so easy to make happen.
And so I did.
And I had a blast.
My favorite moments were seeing the very small ones who took in my costume and were in awe and then smiled and waved. LOVE. Absolutely precious. I was like a rock star. For toddlers. Not too bad for a GW-on-sale costume. As for the older ones, they smiled sometimes too. One even asked, “Are you that girl from Wendy’s?” Sigh. “No, I’m a doll.” “Ohhhh, one of those Lalaloopsy’s?” Umm, no. Oh well. Did I mention I rocked it with the younger crowd?
Tonight there were also other special moments. The little Peter Pan who came up and when I spoke to him, his Mama said, “Oh, he doesn’t talk much.” Because of compassionate friends who have shared the stories of sweet children who are non-verbal and how they experience Halloween, I was able to talk with him and hopefully ease his parents’ concerns that someone would say “No treat for you until you say the magic words–trick or treat!” He was so sweet, and his parents deserve an extra hug.
I saw families dressed up together. The whole Incredible family stopped by. A barista stopped by who couldn’t have been more than eight. I LOVED her clever costume. She said it was her own idea. There were more than a few folks with those scary skeletal masks paired with a cute costume. Two young boys wore those really scary masks and walked around slowly, saying nothing. That was a bit eerie until I heard the voice of a young boy say, “Trick or treat! Happy Halloween!”
No. All is not as it seems on Halloween.
As I wrapped up the night and was about to turn off my porch light, a few more young people came. They were older, and I was happy to see them. Earlier today at the pumpkin patch a father stood with three children, an older teen and two who were young teens. They were all about the costumes and pictures and the fun and I wondered if this was their first experience ever with something like this. I often think about that and wonder if that is the case when a teenager or even young adult comes up on my porch with a jovial, “Trick or Treat!” Is it that they didn’t get to do this when they were young? Or are they, like I was this year, enchanted by the magic and the mystery and the fun and just really need to find that inner child for a night?
Either way, treat it is.
My last two visitors were anywhere from 16 to 18. They had on jeans and t-shirts and tiny little witch hats on their heads. “Could we have just one piece of candy?” one asked, almost apologetically. The other shared, “I’m sorry we are so late. We were at the house, giving out candy, and so we didn’t have time for a costume or anything, we’re just out here like this.”
Oh bless. I think they were adorable. And they looked like young people cloaked in kindness to me.
And since I didn’t have any candy to share, I gave them a slap bracelet AND a wall ninja. Because I was really impressed. (And I felt bad that I didn’t have the one thing they had asked for.)
Tonight I’m thankful for all the little faces I got to see and meet tonight. Staying home on Halloween and handing out goodies is my favorite part of the whole night. I’m glad that I went ahead and broke my costume in this year. Aub says Halloween is the only time I should wear it, but it was really comfortable, and I felt pretty awesome in it, and a year’s a long, long time to wait, don’t you think?
Love and magical wishes to all.
I Might Need A Nap 
I think you should wear it to church.
Now that there is a great idea! I like it. I’ll let you know how that goes over if I do. 🙂