cats aren't red, except at our house

It was just this year that Calder has shown an interest in our neighbors. The lady next door to us has a beautiful dog and Calder has also befriended her pooch. Big deal, since Calder thinks he doesn't like dogs. Up until last Halloween he has not been very interested in "dressing up" in a Halloween costume. I think last year I even gently forced him to be a pumpkin. I love Halloween. It is the one time of the year you get to be your secret fantasy, your alter ego, even your own nemesis and no one looks at you like you're crazy. It's perfectly acceptable. Anything goes.

Other than the forced pumpkin costume (premade even....so unlike me) there has not been that much discussion around the words that are associated with Halloween. Calder came home from school the other day saying all kinds of Halloween words, including the word COSTUME. I jumped on the opportunity as I saw the door was wide open. "So, would you like a Halloween costume?" "yes". "What would you like to be?" I named off a few ideas just to make a point: prince, pirate, lion etc...."I want to be a red cat". "A red cat?" A part of me, a very small part of me wanted to say that cats aren't red. They are sometimes orange, but never red. If I make you a RED cat costume, people will mistake you for Elmo. But I held my tongue, knowing that if a red cat is his fantacy then that is purrr-fectly acceptable, even if it misses the reality mark. Hey, it's Halloween, right? My job? to make sure no one thinks he is Elmo.

We went to the fabric store together, agreed on a red fuzzy fabric, came home and began. Every step of the way makes Calder so happy. "this is so exciting!" he says as I am sewing up all the parts. Secretly I too am having a BLAST!

Back to dogs and neighbors.... Another word that he came home saying was Trick or Treat, which I knew he had no idea what it meant. I explained it to him and he said he was game to go Trick or Treating at our neighbors houses (that is 3 people, maybe 4 if he is willing to walk over to the other street). We'll see how this goes, and I'll have to get back to you. But I will say knocking on doors and asking for candy that he doesn't like is not his cup of tea. But you never know when the door of opportunity will open. I have to be paying attention in order to walk right in with him when he's ready.

I am prepared for the actual Halloween night to be a flop. I don't have those expectations. The joy has already been had in the preparing...in seeing his little face light up when I make his dream a reality.