Our daughter’s first tryst with Halloween.
No, she has absolutely no idea what
Halloween means.
She likes the sound of this new word – so
meticulously adds it to her growing vocabulary list.
Yes, she likes the thought that she gets
to meet her friends for a party.
She has always liked the sound of the
word “party” – it is firmly established in her vocabulary list.
Her dictionary would define this as “a buzzword
implying a much-loved, much looked forward to, generating much excitement [read: sleepless/ less sleep nights for the
parents] event”.
Excitement!! Excitement !!
So for today, let’s just name her EHK (the Excited Halloween Kid).
Excitement was such that there was no
fuss in waking up for school. Because it meant, party as soon as school got
over for the day.
Excitement was such that she had an
interesting conversation with the lady who helps around the house.
Scenario:
Lady has completed her work, leaving the
house, hand on the door knob.
EHK pipes up “Halloween Halloween… Party…
Happy Halloween” and waves a cheerful Bye.
The lady answers with a broad smile: “Yes,
I am also wearing blue like you”
EHK looks at me – a disappointed look.
I swiftly change the topic and the mood.
Dressing Up
Well talking of moods, let’s look at
this conversation snippet as I get her ready for the evening:
Me: So aunty has kept a theme and you
are to wear black pants & T-shirt. Yayyyy !!
EHK: Nope, I am NOT going to go in all
black. I will wear a skirt today.
Me: But you want to wear “full pants” on
other days.
EHK: Today I want to wear a skirt. (A grumpy look is setting in – precursor to a
meltdown)
Me: (Trying
one more time) See, but all your friends would be dressed as witches.
EHK: (Shriiiieeeeeek… was that her or the wind that has been howling
today??!!) I AM NOT A WITCH.
Me: (Damage
control mode) No no, you are not a witch. You are just pretending to be
one. You know like you play “Pretend Pretend”
EHK: I am NOT a witch. I will NOT be a
witch. I will be a Fairy with wings and wand.
Me: Well, the theme is black. Fairies
usually don’t wear black.
EHK: [Well-controlled sobs] Doesn’t matter mumma, fairy can wear black,
too. And see I will have red wings.
Now,
who can argue with that?
My
confidence in my convincing power is diminishing as some tears make their
appearance, the pout forms and the clock is ominously ticking away.
Me: [Seriously
the last attempt] Ummm, maybe another time? Today, a witch?
EHK: Silence
and a betrayed plus accusing look which kids have surely mastered.
A
mini meltdown is surely on its way. But the seasoned professional [read: mommy]
in me suddenly took over. After all, I needed to get to the party, too.
Me: Well Ok, you can be a fairy with a black
top and your colourful skirt. And you get to wear your red wings and carry the
wand.
Well,
my mommy wand sure did the magic – tears, pout, grumpiness, defiance – all vanished
at once.
EHK: Babbling
away. Uncontrollably happy. Incoherent. Doesn’t matter.
The
delighted whoops and the Fairy smile were worth relenting to her wish.
The Party
And there she was squealing in delight,
running around with her friends, jumping, dancing – her happy wings bobbing up
and down.
And she stuck to her stance even at the
party!! She just would not wear the cute red horns like her friends readily did.
She had decided – she is NOT a witch, and she would not budge.
Fair point. Accepted.
She relished the food – not letting go
of her wings and wand.
She went from house to house with her
friends and wouldn’t come back till she got some goodies.
And with her wings bouncing, one hand
firmly holding her wand, she would run back to me, the other little palm full
of toffees or chocolate, so that I could safely keep it in her “bag”.
Not that she has those toffees. But the
whole new thing that she experienced, the entire fun of enjoying with friends –
that simple joy made her so happy. And made me so happy too.
And the After-Party
She squealed in delight as we opened her
goodie bags.
She gushed about the evening as she
narrated little stories to her daddy.
And she gushed about it in her mind as
we tried to put the over-charged little Fairy to sleep.
Aaah, but before she finally drifted
into her dream world (where I am sure she
has been re-enjoying her Halloween party), she drowsily asked me. “Ma, what
does Trick or Treat mean?”
That’s a tricky question little Fairy –
will treat you to the answer tomorrow.
Happy Halloween !!
