Thank You Much

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Her adorable lamb costume finally arrived in the mail at five this afternoon. The party was at six. 

I tried to put it on her and she screamed and writhed, as I somehow knew she would. Long before today I tried to decide what she would be for Halloween, but I kept imagining her tugging at whatever I put on and saying "No like it!" It was sort of like that, only she just screamed and writhed on the floor. 

So I abandoned the lamb and put on her pinkest, fluffiest dress. I thought about how grateful I was to the Target dollar bins for these wings I bought months ago. I told my inner feminist tough beans, and I called her a fairy princess. 


This was the only picture I took, and it's not great. 

I felt terrible as we left home for the church party. I felt spread too thin and not nearly creative enough as a mom. I felt so tired. 

Luckily, a fabulous Halloween takes so very little when you're two. I'm pretty sure this was the best night of her life. At first she was confused when other kids stopped by and we kept giving away what was clearly her candy. And then as we walked around she was confused when someone tried to put more in her bag--she cried out and held it back, afraid they would take what she'd been given. 

And then I watched as the nearly incomprehensible glory of trick or treating dawned on her. These people were giving out candy. Putting it right in her bag! What a world. 

"Thank you. Thank you much," she said as we walked from trunk to trunk. 

Halloween wasn't about me at all, thank heavens. It was about her. It's all about her now, and I couldn't be more glad. It's about the incomprehensible glory of free candy, and your mom not objecting when you reach for a tootsie roll. It's about walking along, knowing you're holding goodness, and saying thank you. Thank you much. 

Comments

Meeshab said…
Nice! Her costume is great!
October 30, 2014 at 9:26 AM
Genevieve Beck said…
It's a great costume! Way to be amazingly flexible. I love the magic when they start to "get" the holidays.
October 30, 2014 at 11:18 AM
Grace said…
Oh girl this made me laugh. I'm having a lot of stretching-too-thin guilt lately. Your blog is my most favorite to read!
October 30, 2014 at 1:15 PM
MaryAnne said…
So sweet! All four of my kids are wearing their costumes from last year this year. Their request, and no way was I going to argue with that.
October 30, 2014 at 2:15 PM
belann said…
Way to not let your ego get the best of the situation. It would be hard not to try to get her in the lamb costume, but she looks adorable with wings.
October 30, 2014 at 5:11 PM
Amara said…
Yeah who cares! Reminds me of when I was wrapping presents for Meesha's boys on a first-ish Christmas and was FAILING! The things looked nothing like Martha Stewart's, and Jeff walked by and clued me into how little a boy would care. I almost ruined my own Christmas. Kids are the best at holidays!
October 31, 2014 at 12:34 AM
Giuli said…
That's so funny! I was actually thinking about my favorite Halloween. The Halloween when Max was three and the last one that I got away with not trick (or trunk) or treating. I didn't not feel like driving twenty miles away for trick or treating, so we rented Pooh's Heffalump and watched it while making Halloween cupcakes and sitting in our jammies. I think that I even let me do my hair, and not one of the two hundred kids in town even darkened my door, so we got to eat all of the candy ourselves. Ha ha! Now Halloween in a big production of getting all three kids in their costumes (with the obligatory mom and dad family themes ones) and going to trunk or treat and making sure that my children are not running into the street or eating too much candy. Man I'm tired right now. Mommy needs a cold one. But since I don't drink, I'll test my own kid's candy basket and see if we got any of the milkyway midnights that we donated to the church. Drat! No such luck!
November 9, 2014 at 10:13 PM
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