Tuesday Thoughts on Thursday about...

...costumes. You've heard me say that I hate costumes. It's no wonder. My mom hated costumes. So, she took the easy way out. She forced us to be cross-dressers---long before anyone even knew what that meant!

For Halloween, I had to wear my brother's baseball uniform. The next. year, I had to wear his Boy Scout uniform. The following year, it was baseball again. Then there was the year that I took matters in to my own hands. My friend, Reenie and I decided to be bums. We just got old clothes, blackened our face (no, not that way---just to look like a beard (not that kind either!) Back then, you had to tell a joke or sing a song to get the candy. Reenie and I sang a bum song to the tune of "We Three Kings" changing the words to "We Three Bums from Orient are...smoking on a rubber cigar, it was loaded, we exploded, now we're the bums on Mars!"

Fast forward to my own kids. I still hated Halloween. Add to that, all the things they needed costumes for at school (St. Joseph, other saints, James Buchanan Eads, pilgrims, Indians, etc.) And then there were the themed birthday parties! I hated it all. I continued the cross-dressing idea in our family. But since the girls had no brothers, I'd say, "put on your dad's suit and go as a businessman. Or don his fishing vest and be a fisherman!" Needless to say, they were never too happy about that. I still maintain that Sandy made a really cute fisherman!

Often times, my friends took pity on me--especially if there were group costumes. They'd do the sewing. Karolyn made the prisoner costumes when Stephanie and her friends wanted to be a chain gang. When Nancy A. made a cowgirl costume for Mindy and her daughters, Paige and Leigh, I did the decorating. I can do amazing things with glitter! That costume was for a birthday party. I was happy because I knew that Mindy would be wearing it for Halloween. And the next year too. The cowboy boots didn't fit that next year, so I made her wear her snow boots. She hasn't forgiven me for that and she was only 5!!

The costume for which Stephanie has never forgiven me was the time I made her wear a black trash bag that we stuffed with newspaper. She was a perfect California raison!

But the costumes that really took the cake were the ones I helped Jordan and Morgan make for their pre-school Thanksgiving feast. They had to come dressed as either pilgrims or Indians. We colored designs on brown grocery bags. I cut holes for the  head and arms. I cut the bottom into fringe and made a paper headband with a paper feather. They were pretty excited when we made them---of course, they were only 3 & 4 and didn't know any better. The next day, when I picked them up from school, Jordan said, "Grammy, we were the only ones in bags!" Bless their little hearts---I was always about making memories and now they have a good one (or at least a memory)!

I'm really very happy to have costumes behind me. No more thinking of what to wear. The pressure is gone. Now I get to enjoy all the "littles" in my life and their costumes! Here they are for this year:

 Josie and Evie--wicked, yet smiling pirates!

 Reese--cute as the bug she is!

 Nathan is some sort of super heroes and I think Travis is Jughead--not really sure. I don't know anything about boy costumes--not in my wheelhouse.

 Max (on the right) looks to be a taco. The picture isn't very good, so I can't tell what Harper is (on the right).

And then there's me!