Queen Teen is having a Halloween crisis. For the last three years she has been a princess, complete with gown and tiara. But this year, when I pulled out her Cinderella gown, she sighed heavily and sat on her bed.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
She shrugged.
"Do you want to be a princess this year?"
"I don't know."
(Great! Here we go again.) "You have this beautiful dress you've only worn once at Disneyland. Would you like to wear it for Halloween?"
"I don't know."
"Do you want to be something else?"
At this, she looked at me and said, "Maybe."
(Progress!) "What would you like to dress up as?"
"I'm not sure."
(Dang!) "Your grandpa sent you some kitty-cat ears. Would you like to be a cat?"
She shrugged. I got the ears and she tried them on, but they wouldn't stay upright on her head, which made her mad. Then we tried the bunny ears her dad had worn with his stilts, but they were too big. I asked if she'd like to be a movie star but she said she didn't know. We were both getting frustrated.
"You only have four days to decide, and if you want my help getting a costume, you need to decide soon."
She shrugged.
"You know, you don't have to dress up this year if you don't want to."
She looked at me with surprise.
I sat on the bed beside her. "Really. Lots of kids your age decide they don't want to dress up anymore." But as I said this, I realized how bummed I would be if she decided not to dress up and trick-or-treat this year. Halloween is my favorite holiday and part of why I love it so much is because Queen Teen has been celebrating it with me. There is nothing like spending this crazy holiday with kids. Queen Teen is no longer a kid, she's a teenager, and she's reached the age where most kids think dressing up on Halloween is for babies.
Is Queen Teen about to give up Halloween, just like she gave up Hug Bear this year?
The next day I asked about costumes again. She just shrugged. I said, "You could be a gypsy."
"What's that?" she asked.
"A person who sings songs and dances in beautiful, colorful clothes, and travels around performing, and tells fortunes."
Her eyes brightened. "That sounds like fun."
"You can borrow my skirt and some scarves and wear your colorful necklaces, even bells if you'd like."
She grinned. "Okay."
Yes! We will be trick-or-treating at least one more year.
6 comments:
Enjoy trick or treating! :) Will this year be extra special since it may be the last time. the gypsy costume sounds great!!
It will be fun--savor it! Jenn decided today that she wants to be something else... not sure what I can do for them.
My 8-year-old daughter all of a sudden decided that she was too old for princesses. I have no idea where that came from.
What a great idea to move from princess to gypsy! Smart Mama.
oooo-gypsies are very exotic!
What a neat transition you performed!
Barbara
after all that, she decided she didn't want to be a gypsy either. I loaned her my pith helmet and she called herself an explorer. I'm just glad she finally decided on something.
Post a Comment