That Time of the Year

Ahhh, Autumn! Crisp, cool air, the aroma of burning leaves, jack-o-lanterns glowing from front windows. Easily my favorite time of year. Besides the aesthetic beauty and bewitching aromas associated with autumn, a certain holiday infuses the season with childlike glee. I'm talking about Halloween -- that pagan celebration of cross-dressing and sugar overdosing. I just purchased Daniel's Halloween costume yesterday (yes, I know I'm over a month early, but I've shown some serious restraint -- the first sign of Halloween appeared in stores sometime in July). He'll probably never remember this particular Halloween. After all, my earliest memory of the holiday was dressing up as a ballerina when I was about 4 years old. Come to think of it, I think I wore my ballerina costume at 4, 5, and 6. By the following year (1984), I had no doubt discovered Madonna and wore lace gloves and gummi bracelets as my costume! Inevitably, I know there will come a day (probably sooner than I think) when Daniel will choose his own Halloween costume. He'll beg to dress up as his favorite cartoon character or superhero, and I'll think to myself, "Why does he have to choose such a COMMON costume?" And then I'll remember dressing as Madonna in 1984, along with millions of other little girls who had no idea what a "virgin" was. Until he's old enough to exercise free will, however, I will dress him up like the precious doll he is. And so, without further ado, I present Daniel's 2008 Halloween costume, courtesy of Pottery Barn Kids: