Halloween 2013

Halloween 2013 was eventful.  For weeks, months, Zoe knew she wanted to be a Zombie, down to the outfit in detail.  She and her dad picked out a dress that was perfect at the thrift store.. purple tartan skirt, black vest, white shirt, added a long sleeve white turtleneck.. all with the purpose of destroying it and coloring it.. which they did, with vigor.  Come the day of the Halloween after school and Zoe and her Dad starting painting her face.  Zoe was traumatized.. I believe she had a hard time rectifying what her face looked like and what she thought it would look like.  There were lots of tears.. we as a team redid her makeup more than 3 times.  I did mine to give her an example, and it sort of helped.  Finally, she is happy, covered in some amount of blood.. her whole attire was great.. she showed up and her two best friends were witches.  By the time we ate, she was beside herself, and felt like an outsider.  She refused to go trick or treating.. whereas Finn, Asha and Claire couldn't wait to get out the door, and left without Zoe and I.  Zoe cried for more than an hour.  I tried everything.. I listened a lot.  Tried to drag her out of the house, trick her out.. the only thing that worked was heading home to get her witch costume...  On the way home I told her why I was so upset.  I told her that I was worried that she thought so much about what other people thought, about fitting in, that for her artistic soul that was the wrong way to be.  How I was worried some day, someone would say something bad about her art, or her technique and she would loose her passion.  That she needed to stand up for being herself and strive not to fit in, to be comfortable being her, to only define herself by being her.  I told her that it reminded me of this story we read about "what will I be when I grow up".. and how the last line is.. "It doesn't matter what I will be, as long as I will be... me".  Much to say, we got back to Kirsten/Asha's and she was fine.  She rallied.. we went door to door to about 4 houses (most had run out of candy), she joined her friends.. her brother and her friends shared with her.  All's well that ends well.

And she asked me to read her the story when we got home.  Maybe she did understand me.

Side note: Fireman Finn had such a good time.. was leading the pack.. running to the door, even when he legs would go no more, he asked his Daddy: "Just you walk to the door, you carry me.. I'll hold the bag and say 'Happy Halloween. Trick or Treat!'" They did a house or two that way before heading back.

He was besides himself with tiredness when he finally was in bed.. a quick leg, foot, and arm massage and he was out like a light.

Pictures up tomorrow/when-I-find-my-darn-camera-cable.