Thanks, Mom!

I don't remember very many Halloween nights when I actually went trick or treating.  I remember the feeling of excitement, the avoidance of certain scary houses, the dumping of the candy on the carpet when I got home to inventory the loot. It was a much anticipated holiday for me.

I do remember one Halloween in particular when I was in high school.  The marching band had a Thursday night practice that fell on trick-or-treat night and we decided that there would be a costume contest amongst all the different instrument groups.  The flute/piccolo line chose to be Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  Being the gangly brunette in the bunch, I got to be Snow White. 

We didn't buy a Snow White costume that year.  My Mom instead took a tank top, some flowy material for sleeves, and the most hideous yellow polyester for the skirt then turned it in to the most wonderful princess dress that you ever did see from found materials.  I still wonder why she had that yellow polyester, but it worked.  It truly did.

 

I didn't realize the seriousness of the Snow White costume making situation until this year when I became inspired during a bout of insomnia and headed down the slippery road that is constructing your children's costumes all by yourself.  I had put the finishing touches on the tractor and the cowboy told me that he wouldn't wear it without a loader bucket.  My little cowgirl refused to put her vest/skirt combo on for more than five seconds.  Halloween approached with great trepidation on my part, but the kids came through.  

They wore their costumes well on Sunday night.  Cowgirl wandered around the dark streets of Circle, daydreaming as usual, with glitters here and there from her rhinestones.  Cowboy took his job of holding the tractor up very seriously.  He even learned how to negotiate curbs pretty quickly.  I learned a lot this Halloween about sewing, cardboard crafting, the weird nature of spray paint intended for tractors.  Most importantly though I learned about this Mom thing:  you do whatever you can to keep your kids happy and it feels really good to do it.  It might be making costumes or it might be as simple as giving them an apple and letting them snuggle up to an episode of Curious George once in a while.  Maybe it's just laying with them for a few minutes at night before they go to sleep and quietly talking about life's adventures.  This Mom thing;  it's the best job in the world.