Gearing up

As another holiday approaches, I've felt that familiar feeling crawl up and make me catch my breath. How in the world would I handle Halloween -- Halloween! -- without being with my child? Halloween is all about the child. The very idea of him trick-or-treating without his friends, without me, in some unfamiliar neighborhood was unbearable. For a moment.

As I have learned to do over these few years, I exhaled. It will be OK, I put out to the universe, I promised myself.

Our parenting agreement simply says we will share this day with our son. Over the past few years, this has required very little negotiation since Halloween landed on a day Lil E was at home with me and his dad was working late into the evening. This year, though, it falls right in the middle of a daddy weekend.

And so I slowed my breathing, put on my best calm voice, and called The Ex to explain all the reasons why I thought it we be best for our boy to dress up as Luke Skywalker and join his pack of costumed buddies to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood near his school. I offered to drive to the suburbs to pick Lil E up, I said I wanted to make it work out for all of us.

Surprisingly, he agreed. Although my time with the young Jedi will only come to two hours, it is still two hours of doorbells and candy and that kiddie glee that comes from being hopped up on too many Sweet-Tarts and mini Reese's Cups.

When the vision of tucking an exhausted Luke Skywalker into bed with chocolate still smeared across his face and a light saber still locked tight in his grasp, I calmed the reactionary voice that panicked, "What will I do if he's not here?"

Instead, I considered all of my options to make my own arrangements, put together my own costume (just like I did last year) have my own fun with friends, skipping around in the dark.

I'm not sure what I will do yet, but I feel better knowing there is a plan in place, and that it started -- and will end -- with it all being OK.

If this is how it is, then I will make it work.  And you can count on a fair amount of spandex, cleavage and candy of my own is going to help me out with that.

Will you do some trick-or-treating of your own? What is your plan for Halloween?

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King of his own little hill

My friend Katie snapped these shots while our boys were running wild at the pumpkin patch over the weekend.

She and I stood laughing as Lil E climbed to the top of a heap of hay -- or is it straw (I never can remember)? -- threw up his arms in victory and screamed out to the sky, "I am the kiiiiiiing! I am THE KIIIIIIING!"

It wasn't long before her boys heard the war cry and scaled to their own victory. Katie's camera click-click-clicked and I silently cheered them along.

Who knows where these boys' lives will go? There is so much potential in each of them, so much spirit, so many ideas, so much laughter, so much more love. Those small bodies and growing brains are housing a lot right now.

 

As much as we don't want to think about it, as parents we know they will go through things. Tough things. Challenging things. Heartbreaking things. We just have to pray that we are preparing them with the skills, the faith, the fortitude, the humbleness, the grace, and the wisdom to make it through all that. To keep clamoring toward the top. 

 

Watching them, standing tall and empowered on that mountain, I was overwhelmed by gratitude and joy for that moment. They have big lives to lead. So, for now, let them revel in being the kings of their own little hills.

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Friday shoegasm: It's raining boots

Now wedges, which have all they height and girly-glee of a heel with added stability and comfort of not balancing the ball of your foot, just got a little smarter with these rain boots. Won't you look sassy splashing around in these by Sperry Top-Sider? The graphic cuff fabric and steel eyelet adds a little pizazz to the black boot, which also has cozy microfleece lining. $75 on Piperlime.

Hunter makes the classic, well-constructed rain boot. And while alternagrrrls and farm grrrls alike can rock them in standard olive and preppy yellow. But now that Hunter's offering them in cute colors, like this high-gloss violet, why wouldn't you take your classic boot up a notch? $115 on Piperlime.

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