Poodle flop…

There’s nothing like Halloween to remind us that little girls love to dress-up. When I was a preschooler I wanted only to be just like my Daddy, so I opted out on tu-tus and princess dresses in favor of things like ties and vests and cowboy boots. Not that my Dad ever owned cowboy boots. That was my individuality rearing an early head, I suppose. Anyway… my own daughters are true girly-girls and can amuse themselves for hours with a Rubbermaid full of tiaras, glittery wings, and frilly ensembles. This is their delight…

I’m fully aware of this, and yet I force my need for a theme upon them at Halloween. I know. It’s a disease, and it’s called OCD. When you struggle with OCD, logic sometimes takes a backseat to things like your vision of the ideal family Halloween ensemble. So, I concoct this whole 50’s idea in my head and imagine us all looking so cute with our Grease get-ups and their matching poodle skirts. The problem is that I forgot to consult the girls about their wishes for their costumes. As it turns out, my 3-year old was a great sport. However, some 2-year-olds have strong opinions about what they wear for special occasions. Some 2-year olds do not care about themes and group pictures and pleasing their mother for just a few hours by wearing the fragile costume that a team of family members spent hours assembling JUST for them. Some 2-year olds show their displeasure by ripping off a strand of carefully placed sequins and posing like this:

Oh, well.

The lesson for me is this: it’s not about me. It’s not about my themes… even when I feel like they are divinely inspired. (wink).  It’s not about cute pictures. What it IS about is having fun and feeling pretty doing it.

So, next year I may get crazy and ask the girls what they would like to be for Halloween. And, if the answer is something like a princess or a ballerina or Minnie Mouse, I’m going to go with it without even worrying about how I can make it a package deal by convincing the Spouse to dress up like a king or a nutcracker or Goofy. I’m not promising that there won’t be some degree of coordination effort, but I resolve to be a more free-spirited, more fun, more relaxed mother. I may need medicine to get there, but I think it’s possible.

Another thing is for sure… next year we’ll be bypassing JoAnn’s and heading to a store that sells already assembled costumes. 🙂

Happy November 1st!!