Hoot Owls and Handcuffs

The girls love Halloween and this year, they began talking about their costumes in July.  When I protested, Cassie reminded me that last year I had waited so long to order the costume she wanted that it was out of stock.    Two years ago, for Lacey's first Halloween, we had ventured into a Halloween specialty store and exited quickly because she was terrified.  That was how we began the order-costumes-by-mail tradition.  Because Lacey never had the opportunity to make choices, she still struggles when presented with options.  For her first Halloween, we had chosen a fairy costume.  Last year, we turned her into Mary Had a Little Lamb.  I decided that this year Lacey should be allowed to select her own costume.

We sat down with the catalog.  From the next room Les hollered, "No wings!"

Ahh, the problem with wings.  The wings to Lacey's fairy costume had refused to stay in place.  She spent Halloween looking like a swatted fly.  Last year, Cassie was a Phoenix.  The red and orange glitter from her wings is still embedded in my car seats.  I agreed that costumes should be wingless.

The girls flipped through the catalog once together.  "I want to be an owl," Cassie declared.  

"What's an owl?" asked Lacey.

"You know," said Cassie, "Whooo, Whooo!"

"No wings!" reminded Les.

"But, Daddy," explained Cassie, "The owl costume has soft fabric wings that are attached to it."

"Okay," Les agreed, "You can be an owl."

Twenty minutes later, Lacey was still poring over the catalog and my patience was beginning to seep away.

"How about Dorothy?" Cassie suggested.

"Don't know who that is," answered Lacey.

"How about Miss Muffet?" Cassie tried.  "Look how pretty the costume is!"

"What's a mismuffet?" asked Lacey.

"Oooooohhh!"  Cassie squealed, "Lacey, you'd be an adorable Red Riding Hood!"

"And, the costume would be so warm!" I added.

"Who's Red Riding Hood?" asked Lacey.

We sighed and continued turning pages.

"There," smiled Lacey.  "I like that!"

"Oh," I groaned.  "The little gnome costume would be perfect.  But, it only comes in toddler sizes.  Too bad."

"What about a ladybug?"  asked Lacey.

"No wings," yelled Les.

"What about a mermaid, Lacey?" offered Cassie.  "You know what a mermaid is."

"She'd never be able to walk in that costume," I concluded.

"What about a cowgirl?"  Cassie ventured next.  "I loved my cowgirl costume."

"What's a cowgirl?" asked Lacey.

"Hmm.... maybe she'd look good as Marie Antoinette," Cassie said.

"Cassie," I replied.  "You would like to be Marie Antoinette because you know who she is.  There isn't enough time to explain all that to Lacey and get her to be excited about it.  Anyway, she'd never be able to hold her head up wearing that huge wig!"

"Maybe I would like to be a cat," ventured Lacey.

"Well...." I said as I examined the picture of the cat costume, "It's awfully skimpy.  And, before you ask what skimpy means, I will explain that you would freeze in that costume.  If it's cold, you would have to put a jacket over it and nobody would be able to see the costume."

"I kind of like this one," Lacey pointed.

"A watermelon fairy?" Cassie giggled.  "Lacey, if you ring doorbells dressed like that do you really think people will know what you're supposed to be?"

"No wings!" grumbled Les.

"This is kind of cool," Lacey pointed again.

"The same goes for 'galaxy princesses,'" Cassie explained.  "Lacey, part of the fun of a costume is when people recognize who or what you're supposed to be."

Lacey continued turning down our suggestions.  She had never heard of a go-go dancer or a Pink Lady.  She didn't see why Cassie though a poodle skirt was cute.  No to any food costumes, including the hotdog, popcorn, pizza slice and cupcake costumes. I said no to the cave girl, simply because I knew she'd freeze.  

Suddenly, Lacey's face lit up.  "I know what I want to be!" she exclaimed.  "A policeman."

"Oh my gosh, Lacey, that's perfect for you!" Cassie cheered.

As I got ready to place the order, I asked Lacey why she had chosen to be a police officer.

"I can put the handcuffs on Cassie," she grinned and ran off.

Well, Lacey still has a lot to learn about American culture.  And, she still has trouble making decisions.  But, this Halloween promises to be exciting.