children (mine and others) running from booth to booth fueled purely on M-n-M's, Tootsie Rolls and lollipops,
the repetitive pop! Pop! POP! of the "dynamite" balloons,
the ever-pervading smell of popcorn,
the CLANG! of the bell on the "show me your muscles" hammer drop,
little princesses and ninjas with helium balloons tied to their wrists (all the better for their parents to find them in the hub-bub),
shrieks and squeals of happy (and not so happy) trick-or-treaters,
and an overwhelming memory of a Harvest Fest from Halloween past.
I told this story to Norah as we stood together near the bump-n-jump ...
Our Nuna-Girl was due on Halloween eight years ago. She didn't want to miss out on the fun, however, so she came early. Her arrival on October 22, meant that our new family of four got to enjoy Harvest Fest together. Sorta.
I spent most of my evening, as I recall, at a table up on the stage nursing our little pumpkin. From my vantage point, I watched Brett walk from booth to booth with Aaron, our alligator:
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| Here he is with cousin Rebekah ... the cheerleader. |
I thought that costume was so cute! His green satiny tail had little pokeys on it and his scales were all fluffy. Also it was warm which was perfect for a chilly Halloween night. That is, of course, unless you spend the night indoors. In that case, it gets pretty hot. Sweaty hot. Damp red curls hot.
Brett, being a wise Daddy, freed his little guy from the alligator hoody and sent him off to the next booth. That meant that the next person who passed by, of course, wondered what the little boy in the white onesie and green pants was supposed to be. Use your imagination.
Within a few moments of being set free, Aaron made a bee-line for the bump-n-jump and it was at that moment that he experienced yet another wardrobe malfunction. As he bumped and jumped, he jumped and bumped right out of his pants. It didn't bother him at all. He just kept bumpin' and jumpin'!
"Yep. That's my little guy in there ... the one in just his onesie. What's he supposed to be? Oh, an alligator, of course."
In the end, our little gator managed to bring in quite the haul ... more candy than we knew what to do with. He was successful in his efforts as a trick-or-treater, even if his costume was more of a hinderance than a help.
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses (fellow trick-or-treaters), let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin (costumes) that so easily entangles. And let us run (bounce) with perseverance the race (evening) marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1, examples mine)
I hope that Aaron will live a life in which he doesn't allow the problems of the world to keep him from his goal. I hope that he'll cast off all the snaggy and ill-fitting parts of life ... and keep his eyes fixed on Jesus. Even in the face of costume catastrophes!
It reminds me of Eustace in the Narnia series, how he shed his skin... Love the pic!
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