Almost Hallowen

My Mama always made our Halloween costumes when I was growing up. Actually, she did not always make them, but when she made them she made some doozies. My brothers usually reaped the benefits...they were fashioned into a video arcade game and The Thing in years past. I was usually some type of ballerina which likely came from personal requests from my own mouth.

I remember looking at the pictures of those years and wondering how I was cheated of the wonderful costumes that she made, but I can totally forgive her now knowing that in that young incarnation of myself, I probably demanded the pretty fluffy tulle over the awesome-ness of a costume composed totally of shredded newspaper glued to a giant garbage bag and placed over the head of my younger brother (I just saw a picture that he was uploading for his wedding slide show, but I could not find it to upload...trust me, it was awesome).

In my mind. performing a proper Mama-hood requires mandatory costume making. Without the attempt, I would equal a Mama-hood fail. Last year I mustered up enough energy to dress them and slick their hair back, the year before I could have cared less for Halloween when juggling twin 6 month old babies.


This year I started early, just a vague concept in mind. Initially I wanted to go with Lewis and Clark, turn their red wagon into a covered one and outfit them in buckskin. I Googled the phrase in images and came up with a ton of pictures, all of the pair sporting 2 foot long muskets...guess men were better off with a trusty sidearm in those times. That idea was shelved, so then I turned to the entomologist in me and determined that they would make amazing spiders.

It is now the night before Halloween as I write this and they are sleeping and I should be finishing the last of my cobbled together idea.

The costume consists of homemade hats, t-shirts fitted with three pairs of spray painted cardboard tube legs (with joints, thanks to Tim) and adorable tight girl leggings and high top Chucks. I have a bit more to do (like make the whole second T-shirt costume part) but I would rather write.


Halloween means so much again. It means excited boys chanting "Halloween" and "Nienies", it means meeting Pumpkin Jack and Sally in person at Disneyland and watching our boys choke and freeze up in front of their idols.

It means cobbled together costumes that started over a month ago and are not quite done, but damn well will be tomorrow.

This is my favorite month of the year, a month of change and death and loss and dark....it calls to me deeply.

It is also a month of sweets and coyness, play and false eyelashes...it is just perfect. I love Halloween. I remember one year when I was sick and fell asleep the afternoon of Halloween, woke to a sky lit and panicked when I though I had slept through the night, missed all the activities. I think I was 4.

So, despite a bone weary body, the knowledge that Tim is leaving Sunday morning for a photo trip to the Grand Canyon and then I leave to San Francisco when he returns, despite thinking it would slow down after the wedding event, despite all on the To Do list...tomorrow morning I will wake up, finish the other Spider legs and arms, finish my Beehive costume and Tim as Beekeeper, and then we are going to have a blast. Because Halloween is my favorite night of the year and it only comes around once each 365.

Have a ghastly ghoulish deliciously sweet Halloween, my friends. (Cue evil laugh).