If RileyGrace Had Done Blair Witch

My kids . . . what can I say?   They’re prodigies.   Here you see my four year old is already trying her hand at Halloween cinematography.   Sure it’s been done.   But I must say, she’s hitting 11 on the scary meter with this one.

I know it’s a little late to be posting Halloween pix, but I frankly didn’t have much to say about the topic until now.   What changed?   I’m really not sure.   For me, the whole Halloween thing was always about ghosts and goblins and such.   Throw in a good horror movie, some really fresh candy corn (ever had that year-old stale stuff? YUCK!) and you’ve got a great excuse to safely pretend to explore the “other side” of good vs. evil.

What I noticed this year, however, was not so much about good and evil.   I saw in my children a different kind of duality.   And I can’t believe I forgot what this felt like.   Remember dressing up, becoming someone totally different?   Remember suspending reality for just a short time and truly believing you were in fact a $10 Storm Trooper from the star-ship WalMart?

I saw this in my children for the first time this year.   And I don’t know how I could have missed it.   My oldest, McKenzie, is . . . well, the oldest.   She’s predictably over-achieving and strives for perfection in all she does.   So what does she choose for her costume?   A Geisha.   Now, I know what you’re thinking.   I thought it to.  ‘What?   My daughter is going trick our treating as an 18th Century Japanese prostitute?’   But let’s move passed this for a moment.   To my daughter (who I  sincerely hope  has yet to  define  the word’prostitute’)  this costume is  something entirely different.   To her there is only beauty, mystery, and perfection.   This is who she is, who she wants to be.   And I love that about her.

My four year old was a fairy princess.   I think that one speaks for itself.

Our friends joined us.   Their costumes were equally telling.   McKenzie’s counterpart, the Ninja  formerly known as Brad, was telling all with those eyes of his.   Deadly,  yet adorable.   Here’s a kid that has the brain power to take over the world, but the temperament to give it all back to whoever needs it.   I was proud to have an ancient warrior to escort my little Japanese . . . uh . . . lady.   Then there was Bailey.   Another princess.   Again, no explanation needed.

Dude-man Bryant joined in the fun, but  wasn’t quite old enough to have developed an alter ego.   As for Logan and myself, we were embracing the true essence of who we knew ourselves to be – porch dwellers.   And scary ones at that.

Next year I will take note.   While there are many  who will wimp out with the traditional one-eyeball-hanging-out rubber mask and Daddy’s old overalls, I’m betting that there are a few whos’ masks will do more revealing than concealing.   I’ll also be watching to see what masks my children and their friends adorn.   What will those masks say about them?   Time will tell.   Until then, it’s just me on the porch eating Candy Corn.   Yum yum.