I can’t believe it’s already October. It’s the time of year where we start getting ready for Halloween. Ok, that’s not terribly honest. It’s the time of year I SHOULD be getting ready for Halloween but I’m not supermom any other day of the year so it doesn’t happen until the very last minute.
For example, my son came home the other day and pointed to some cobwebs on our patio, “LOOK MOM OUR DECORATIONS ARE READY SEE THERE’S EVEN A SPIDER HIS NAME IS BOB. Can BOB come to dinner?” So awkward. Martha Stewart, I am not. It occurs to me that parenting is a lot like Halloween.
1. You dress up like someone you’re not. You clothe yourself like someone who remembers field trip forms and who knows where the kid’s shoes are. You know, a responsible adult. Impostor syndrome tells me this is a costume and not really me at all.
2. You trick or treat. Usually, it’s going from place to place in search of said field trip forms and shoes.
3. It takes a lot of makeup to cover up who you are. Who I am is tired, hungry, and ready to go home most of the time. The only difference is that you use Halloween makeup to look like a zombie and I use it to NOT look like a zombie.
4. Sometimes you wear masks. Mine are normally for skincare purposes, but one time I left it on when I was travelling on business and went to the lobby to get coffee and scared people.
5. You end up staying up way past your bedtime. Halloween late nights are about excitement, mine are mostly about things I still have to do because I’m a busy lady with a busy family.
6. You spend a lot of time sorting things. Normally in our house, we are just sorting laundry and not fun-sized candy bars. It’s much less fun but has the benefit of being lower in calories and added sugar.
7. You say the same thing over and over again. On Halloween, it’s TRICK OR TREAT. In parenting, it’s usually GO TO BED and TAKE A BATH and DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Only one of these situations results in deliciousness. The other one results in being called the MEANEST MOM EVER, which isn’t true, because I’m a zombie, not a witch.
The exciting part of Halloween is you never know what you are going to get, and that’s equally true of parenting. Looking at my little boy. My heart is as full as the pillow cases full of candy I lugged around as a child and life couldn’t possibly get more sweet.
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