Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Bear Dog

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Last year my kids all had big ideas on what they wanted to be for Halloween. Joshua, unfortunately is stuck with a storm trooper costume until he outgrows it, because he HAD to have the white kind... drone? and it took me forever to find any at a good deal and by the time I got to them they'd been snatched up. So the one he has cost me $30, after shipping. I told him I would only buy it if he agreed to wear it until it was too small. He did.
Jaeden has been a cowboy for two years now. She has a little horse she wears that trips her going up and down the stairs. So this year she got a new costume from the thrift store, she's a vampiress.
Joy- my sweet little Joy. Last year she wanted so badly to be a puppy ... so badly she could not be talked into anything else. I'm a big believer in thrift store costumes. I hate paying an arm and leg for something I can get slightly used for only a finger. I could not for the life of me find her a puppy costume. I searched at least 8 thrift stores. Finally I found a bear costume that was missing the head. I ended up making a tail and sewing it onto the back of the furry body in a brown that matched the tummy patch. I also sewed her a hat, using the same fur from the tail for the ears and attaching them to a felt hood. She was soooooooo cute and she LOVED the costume. When it came home from storage this year they were reunited and she was so happy to see it again. In the week that it's been here she's worn it for a while every day.
Today we went to the library for story time, and the kids were invited to wear their costumes. Joy decided to wear the puppy, even though she decided to wear Jaeden's old cowgirl costume for trick-or-treating. She loved wearing the puppy today. That is until we got stuck waiting outside of the bathroom at the library. When the grandma and her two grand kids emerged she told joy what a cute little bear she was. I pointed out the wagging tail and said, "she's a dog" with a smile. But I guess this got Joy's sprockets moving because as the story time continued I could see her confidence in her costume fall. First she started at front with the kids. Then she would come back to me for reassuring hugs and then finally ended up in my lap. On the way out to the car she asked me if she could take the costume off in the car, I told her to wait and asked why she wanted it off now. She told me, "because it's embarrassing me." My heart cracked.
After some conversation she finally said that it was embarrassing because it wasn't new. That's when we had a heart to heart talk about mommy's love and her costume was made with love and sometimes things that are not new are the best.
She wore the costume home.
She's still going to be a cowgirl on Halloween, and that's ok. The bear/dog is too small now anyway and should be retired.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Who knew a halloween costume could cause so much emotion and thought!

Hope you guys have a great Halloween!

Monique

Michelle said...

Oh my gosh, what she said, about broke my heart! Miss A once about cried when we bought Miss J something new and A had to get a hand me down. She said she was tired of getting hand me downs. At this age, it's just hard to understand the concept of money and bills and everything else. I love how you handled it though and what you said. You're a great mom Jen. :)