The Costume that Could Have Been

The girls are very excited about Halloween.  As am I.  For whatever reason I embrace the opportunities to get free crap.  Whether it's candy on Halloween or cheap beads during Mardi Gras.  All things that have minimal value the next day but are gold when you are in the moment.

When they were very little, I could take them out trick or treating in cute little costumes (clowns, lions, sheep, etc.) and get an amazing amount of candy.  They had no real concept of candy at that point and if they did they did not have the proper infrastructure yet to enjoy it (like teeth).  I did the same with Kaileigh when she was little. 

Before we moved here from Houston, we lived in this great neighborhood that completely embraced holidays.  Different streets had themes during XMas and all of the houses decorated on that theme.  People would drive in from all over to look at the houses and lights at night.  On Halloween, everyone went all out as well, and literally truckloads of kids would come in to trick-or-treat.  We would buy 10 bags of candy and sit outside to distribute it.  Lines formed.

The neighborhood right next door (we were just 2 blocks away) was a little less enthusiastic about the massive influx of treat-or-treaters.  So they got together and decided that they would do Halloween on October 30th each year.  That way, their kids could enjoy trick-or-treating without having to give a bunch of candy to "those kids."  They went dark and silent on October 31st (it was pretty scary - they even managed to turn off the street lights).

Well, Candlelight Plaza's xenophobia was Shepherd Park Plaza's source of candy!  At least for us.  The girls and I would go trick-or-treating on October 30th and fill up our bags with their precious candy that we then gave away to "those kids" on Halloween.  It was a lovely lesson for the girls in karma, taxation and redistribution of wealth.  Though, at four, it was more a lesson in "We can go trick-or-treating TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW!"

Jill took them out for costumes last weekend.  When they came home, I asked them what their costumes would be.  Abby told me she was going to be a "Devil Fairy."  I was a little confused, but then I remembered the old cartoons where the little angel and devil would pop up on a character's shoulder, tempting them toward the evil or righteous path.

How cool!  I could dress up as someone in a moral quandry (not exactly sure what that would look like), and the girls could be the two sides of my conscience.

Moral quandry guy: "Hmmm.  There's an untended bowl of candy with a sign to take only one."
Poof! (we would need some sort of arrival smoke).
Devil Fairy: "Take all the candy!!!"
Poof!
Angel Fairy: "You should take only one.  That's the right thing to do."

But alas, Alexis did not choose the Angel Fairy costume.  Instead, she is going to be a Purple Witch.  When I asked her what a purple witch was, she said "It's a witch.  Dressed in purple."  Of course.

So I have to come up with a different idea for a costume.  Moral quandry guy was going to be a little bit of a cerebral choice to begin with, but I'm sure no-one would understand:

Moral quandry guy: "Hmmm.  There's an untended bowl of candy with a sign to take only one."
Poof!
Devil Fairy: "Take all the candy!!!"

Poof!
Purple Witch: "Heh heh heh heh heh!!!!"