BOO!

To dress up or to not dress up, that is the question. Are you too cool when you are in sixth grade to dress up for Halloween? Or are you still considered a little kid and are therefore, hopefully, not ridiculed for choosing to dress as a care bear, or a witch, or a ghost.

H has wrestled with this decision this year. She is, after all, only 11.  Halloween has always been one of her favorite holidays BECAUSE of the costumes, and of course the candy. H and her friends would deliberate for weeks on their costumes. Should they dress as 1950's girls, sesame street characters or m&m's? We would make several trips to the Halloween costume store before a final decision was made. Sometimes returning and purchasing several costumes multiple times.

I am completely ok with that. I love Halloween too. In elementary school a whole day was devoted to it! There would be a parade, where all parents, grandparents and other assorted family members would gather midday and surround the school, cameras in hand. My husband would even take off work for this! After the parade, class parties ensued followed by the mad rush to dash home for trick-or-treating.

We are blessed to live in a neighborhood full of young families and children. Frankly, it is a zoo on Halloween but I love it. The kids rush home from school, wait for their friends and then gather in the street. Hopefully we get a picture before they run off.

My son, who is a freshman in high school now, has always dressed up with his friends.  Being cool was never an issue for him because he just enjoyed it and went with the flow. He's lucky that his friends are like that. They don't think they're too cool, they feel comfortable just enjoying themselves. Sometimes that takes more guts than trying to fit in - 'should I or shouldn't I, what will people think'.

I felt a little deflated when my daughter said she didn't really want to dress up. I know she is reacting to peer pressure - I know she wants to be a pink care bear. She waited to find out what her friends where doing before she made her decision.  Yes - she will be a pink care bear, and several of her other friends will be care bears of different colors. As much as she loved this costume, she never would have followed her heart unless her peers were on the same page. I'm sorry she feels that way, but I guess I remember how hard it was to fit in if you stepped out of the box.

I will choose to treasure my sweet pink care bear this year because next year she she may be too cool to dress up for halloween, and I'll just have to accept that.