Goblins and Halloween

There's something about a 2-year-old girl dressed as a ninja. Especially when she does ninja moves. She's dressed in black sweat pants and a black, long-sleeve shirt. She wears an orange headband, and she will kick your butt. With cuteness, that is.

Halloween has taken on a completely different meaning. It used to be a silly time for me to go out and get candy and screw around. Now it's all about how Andrea and I can get the kids into the cutest costumes possible. For example, how can you go wrong with a chicken costume that is exceedingly cute and soft? I've never wanted to grab a chicken and squeeze it close until one of our kids was dressed as one. We've had various animals at Halloween time. A tiger, a chicken, a dog, and I'm sure there have been others.

There's no telling what the kids will want to be for Halloween on any given year. They choose something and it lasts for around 4.5 minutes. Somehow, this year, the kids decided they wanted to be ninjas. I wouldn't have had a clue about how to put those costumes together. Leave that to a bright woman who has a knack for finding stuff that, when put together, works very well. The kids tried their costumes last night. They loved them. They are now professional assassins. Very small, professional candy assassins. If you need to 'take care' of any kind of sweet something or other, I 'know people.'

I have been guilty of being a stick in the mud with certain things. I'm not very good at being excited about every little thing that rolls my way. But I'm glad that I'm able to get into Halloween as much as I do. I don't dress up. But I'm happy to get the kids stuff and take them to our church's annual trunk or treat party. They get a big kick out of it, and it brings plenty of smiles. The consumption of candy at rocket thruster speed and the accompanying candy wrapper mess can be a tad frustrating. But those things end. It's all worth it. It's all good. Kudos to Andrea, who never fails to take Halloween by the horns and make it fun for our goblins (and for herself in the process!). I'm very fortunate to have married someone who gets as excited as a little kid about so many things.

So bring it on. We've got 4 ninjas in our family, and someone who knows ninjas well enough to clothe them. I think we all will just sit back and let the 2-year-old just take care of things. She'll kick your butt.