Last Saturday we drove to Party City to pick out some Halloween costumes. As I drove, one of my kids asked what she “was” last year. This led to a free-for-all conversation about what each of the kids wore going back as far as 1996 when my oldest daughter was a 9-month-old clown. My middle daughter, our list maker, kept track of the costume by year list.
It was not as easy to remember each costume as we have had years where a child wore the same costume two years in a row. Who could forget my oldest daughter as Winnie the Pooh at age 2 and 3? Or, my middle daughter as a furry horse for K and 1st grade?
I think of these costumes as more than thread and fabric, but as memories. The thought of my son in his fuzzy lion costume reminds me of how he was so desperate to stand up although he was only 6 months old. With two older sisters he was and still is frantic to get in on the action.
The Winnie the Pooh costume reminds me of watching my 2-year-old wearing the costume while squatting on a chair to “poo” in her diaper. I recall looking over at her and thinking “Oh look, Pooh is poo-ing?” Lovely…
How about my middle daughter in her purple shirt, black pants, floppy hat, and American Idol microphone. She was an American Idol contestant who was unfortunately mistaken for a purple witch. Oh well…
Or, what about my then-2nd grader who wanted to be a spy? We got her an army costume to go with her spy gear, but the army costume was glittery and covered in sequins. She did not mind when people thought she was an army girl. To her it was a spy costume.
We finished the “costume by year list” as we pulled in to the parking lot of Party City to find the perfect Halloween costume memory.
