Of all the holidays, Halloween is the one I fear doing alone. It’s not the ghouls and goblins that frighten me, it’s the thought of having to do costumes without the one who is good at that kind of stuff. Without… MOM!
Let’s face it, for those who celebrate Halloween you typically fall into one of three categories:
1) Crazy pop-culture zombie groupies.
2) Someone just trying to score candy (this goes for kids and adults-many of us use our kids to score the candy).
3) The proud momma who wants to see their kid all sorts of cute costumes and takes more photos of said child than a sim card can hold.
Do you remember that putdown from elementary school that went something like “your momma dresses you funny?” It’s not momma who dresses kids funny, it’s us guys. Because we all know men only see roughly 7 colors whereas women see 7 shades of light green.
I am the classic example of not being able to coordinate an outfit on my kids. I believe stripes and plaid do look cute on a four year old, especially with some exciting dinosaur boots. Well at least I think it is fashion trending outfit until class pictures start circulating. Then I realize that I really do dress my kid funny. But hey, at least when someone says to my son “Your momma wears combat boots!” he can reply, “Ya, and she can handle an assault rifle, too.”
Anyway, when word came down that there was a month long Field Training Exercise(FTX) scheduled for October in my wife’s battalion, goosebumps ran up and down my neck and my bones trembled with fear. I realized I could be forced to do costumes by myself this year. Lucky for me, it appears I may be off the hook and she may be home in time. Operative words here are “may” and “be.”
Regardless of whether or not she will be home in time, I know Halloween will happen for the boys and me. We may not be as squared away if mom were here, but we can hold our own-because that’s what we do, all of us military spouses. We do the best we can within our abilities to make each holiday and occasion as special as we can for all of us, including our spouse that is “away.”
Halloween is also the beginning of the holiday season. Staying connected over the holiday season is important. So we want to know what is it you do to stay connected?
As for me, what do I do? I step way out of my comfort zone. I coordinate with my wife (which means I do what she says) to make sure all of our costumes for Halloween look great. Even if it is against my nature and I would rather have a bowling ball dropped on my chest from a 10ft ladder. Even then.
