Tonight was trick-or-treating at Mama's office and so, by 3 p.m., the kids were rearing to go, even though we didn't need to be there until 4 p.m. But we needed that time to finalize costumes. What accessories did Sis need to complete her Kenai costume--a spear? a little stuffed bear? In the end, just her totem necklace and the omnipresent Amy-Shirt combo. Bud was a little more tricky, as he completely altered his Halloween costume in the last 24 hours, going from Denahi to a faerie.
Fine, fine, snicker. Then, grow up.
Yep, Bud was a faerie. In his Denahi blue tunic and belt but with his blue faerie wings. And he was wonderful "spreading magic around the world" and being so happy in his chosen costume. Did we have reservations? Frankly, there wasn't that much time to agonize over or debate his choice. Coincidentally, I had recently read the Motherlode post, "When a Boy Wants a Tutu," and empathized with the parents who felt awkward about letting their kindergartener wear his tutu to the school Halloween parade (mainly because they didn't want him teased). Mama and I had discussed the post at length, before Bud chose to be a faerie. It's an unenviable position--the kindergartener''s parents can protect him now but possibly send a message that they don't accept him or send him out into the often cruel world of the elementary school playground in his tutu and see immediate and maybe longlasting repercussions when he is labeled a "fairy." Would parents worry about a girl being a firefighter or even, say, a Native American boy who became a man by becoming a bear?? (That's Kenai, folks. A boy. Who Sis dressed up as. But then this whole "boys-can't-dress-up-like-girls" has its roots in misogyny because "real men" would never want to be like girls, right? Don't get Mama started.). Bud has a pink tutu just like that five-year old, but we don't let him wear it out of the house. Not because we are embarrassed (he can wear it, and has, around anyone who comes into the house) but because costumes are not street clothes and we don't wear costumes out of the house (nor does Sis; we keep rules the same). Except at Halloween. Which is why we were happy with Bud being happiest as a faerie (And, with Sis as Kenai. Though, Mama's office is not Bud's school; the ramifications are different, and so might our decision be). And all but one of the people at Mama's office were totally cool, even nonplussed about it; the one guy was an asshole, saying that Sis and Bud got their costumes backwards. You're the backwards one, mister.
The kids are now expert trick-or-treaters. We knew they would be. When she was very little, at her second Halloween, when she was just over one (and a gnome, along with Bud), Sis knew she had two hands and therefore must have a piece of candy for each hand whenever anyone offered her the bowl of treats! This year, they could spot a bowl of candy in the various cubicles from half a hallway away and didn't really want to stop to exchange pleasantries--"and what are we this year?" just drew quiet stares--with Mama's coworkers if there was no candy in sight! Sis was very selective in her choosing, picking out her favorites: Tootsie Rolls, Hershey bars, and Hershey Kisses. Yep, chocolate. Bud was indiscriminate in his grabbing, often of much more than the 1-2 pieces we had practiced this week when we played Halloween. He even got several off-limits peanutty candies in his greedy grabbing. But the enthusiasm was evident and no one minded much--there really was a ton of candy, which was the focus of the evening. At one point, Mama asked if they wanted to go get a balloon animal or keep trick-or-treating and they both said "candy" as they took off to yet another cubbie. At least they both remembered the "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" we had also practiced.
Finally, having exhausted every office, they collapsed into bean bags and started sorting their loot: Bud had 6 popcorn balls! And probably about 3 lbs of candy. Sis had substantially less, but it was all chocolate. And so, there they sat, inhaling anything they could open. At one point, Sis buried her head deep in her tote bag of candy so that all you could see was her back! And Bud got popcorn all over his costume. And the bean bag. And the floor.
When even they'd had enough sweets, we headed to dinner. As we left Mama's office, one of the most magical events of the evening happened: we spotted a 6-point buck munching grass on the side of the office drive, staring at us as we came to a stop to watch him. "Look, Mommy, " Sis cried out happily, "he's not scared of people!" We sat there for 5+ minutes watching him watching us. Then, on to the restaurant, which was more for us than for them, though surprisingly, they did manage to eat their food. But there was enough sugar in them to keep them awake all the way home in the dark, way past their bedtime. They're asleep now, though, getting ready for the main event tomorrow!
Though, interestingly, Bud says he wants to be Denahi, without wings, tomorrow.
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