A Couple of Misfits.

I wasn't so sure that Rudy would actually wear her Hermey costume this year.  She, first of all, missed the chance to wear her costume to preschool, because the night before, she stumbled downstairs to our bed and threw up on our sort-of-new comforter.  That, and a sudden case of hives meant that we spent the morning at the doctor's office.  But she was diagnosed with nothing more than a random bunch of viral symptoms, and after a brighter twenty-four hours, she went to dance class in her costume, but without the shoes and hat.


That was when she noticed that most of the other three-year-olds there were dressed as, you guessed it: princesses.  And so, we're right back where we started.  By the time she made it to her gymnastics Halloween gala later that afternoon, she was in Marley's ratty old Cinderella dress, with some fairy wings added for good measure.  And I was miserable, partly because of that, partly because I had just come from a visit with my mother, who has no idea who I am or what she's even doing, partly because it had already started to snow, and partly because the day was not turning out anywhere near the way I had planned or expected.  It was supposed to be a good day.  And it wasn't.  At all.


But.  The next days were chances to start over, and I persevered.  I came up with a plan.  On the morning of Halloween, Rudy and her entire family cozied together on the couch, nice and early, with an appropriate amount of snow outside, to enjoy a Very Special Showing of Rankin and Bass's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  And Rudy was re-enchanted, bubbling over with giddiness every time her favorite misfit elf was on screen.  We weren't really pushing it at that point, just casually and excitedly remarking that she would get to be Hermey later that day for trick-or-treats, which had been relegated to daytime hours because of the snow and ice and downed trees and electrical lines.


And then.  I realized that we must have left Rudy's Hermey costume, the one that was packed for but rejected at the gymnastics party, at the gym on Saturday.  And I knew the gym was closed because I had already been in contact with the owner about the patent-leathery boots Emma had left behind at the same party.  So all was a little bit lost, and I was nauseated because I had spent weeks making my quirky Toot the quirkiest possible costume, and we had fought off the tidal wave of Princess Mania for just a few days longer, and all for nothing.  I quickly stitched some white felt on the cuffs and collar of one of Liz's boy's fleece jackets in the meantime, feeling pretty sour about the whole thing.


But then!  Todd found the missing backpack in his car, and Rudy was so distracted by the Rudolph DVD I put in immediately after her nap, that I eased on her leggings and hat and elf-shoe booties while Hermey declared sadly that he just wasn't happy with his work, and moments later, we were off!

Emma and Jackson, as Bat Girl and Bat Man, joined us for tricks and treats around the block, and Marley flamenco'ed it up, and it was a Happy Halloween after all.  Ole!