Well, it was an interesting Halloween. It was a turning point for us. It was the first year my little baby wanted to be something gruesome. Little Gerry begged. He pleaded. He threw the "all the other kids are doing it" in my face. And after some careful thought, I decided not to fight this battle. I gave in. I surrendered. My precious boy chose to be the grim reaper- the angel of death. I talked to him about who the grim reaper is thinking that maybe that would deter him. Unfortunately, that backfired. The truth about the grim reaper lecture only made him more appealing. Especially when we found the costume with the glowing red eyes and large, creepy scythe. One thing I was not prepared for was the explanation all of my neighbors and friends would require. They know we go to church. They know this is uncharacteristic for us. So, embarrassed, I had to come up with lame reasons on why I let my child be the angel of death. And with each new conversation, I regretted my surrender more and more.One of the things God is always pointing out to me is His sense of humor. And this situation would prove to be another opportunity for God to laugh at me. The Sunday after Halloween, we went to children's mass at church. Father Don asked all the kids what they were for Halloween. Yep, you guessed it. My son proudly raised his hand and announced to the whole church that he was the Grim Reaper. And while Father Don was holding the microphone for my son's announcement, he was staring straight at me with the "I'll see you in confession this week" look on his face. So, thanks God for the message. Next time I will fight the battle.
Ben on the other hand was Ben. He refused to wear a costume. He did not care that all the other kids were wearing a costume. There was nothing I could do to convince him to wear a costume. So, I went trick or treating with them both while having to apologize to my neighbors for Gerry's costume and then explain to my neighbors why I was carrying around Ben's costume. And I don't know why Ben insisted on sitting in the blue chair for the picture, but he did. So there they are. And I am glad this Halloween is over.
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