Halloween

Much like last year, we are not celebrating Halloween with the same enthusiasm as one might living in the United States. His first Halloween was in a nice second-hand, felt pumpkin outfit (seen here), but his second Halloween in Japan, I can’t even remember if we marked the day with anything. This year, at Kids Central, Halloween was to be celebrated last Friday, and all of the children were going to go trick-or-treating at one of the homes of Kaia’s classmates, a British family working at the Consulate. Unfortunately, the wicked rains of last week washed away that opportunity (there are still some places in the city without power and under a few feet of water) and Kaia was rather disappointed.

Since Kaia is very particular with what he wears, we knew that there was no way that we would wear just any old costume, not that we could find something easily here in Chennai. So, when we asked him what he wanted to be, he thought…’airplane…boat…no, dinosaur!’ So it was decided. My wife used some old shirts and a dash of creativity (with hand stitching) to make him a stegosaurus t-shirt, complete with back spines and a long tail. Sure, it is not 100% anatomically correct, but he loved it. She even made him a little hood with eyes on it, but predictably, he wouldn’t let us put it on his head. This boy just hates hats. So, maybe next year, if we’re back in the States, he can make up for the lost years and mark his fourth Halloween with a snappy costume punctuated by a nice neighborhood trick or treat run. I know that I’ll enjoy the candy.

Why I Love this Time: Watching the tremendous growth of a child from one day to the next and how easily it comes is a tremendous life lesson.