Costumes

Yes, OK? The tree did make a sound when it fell. It's just basic physics, really. We know that the force of the tree cracking and hitting the ground (and those poor littler trees that it took out on the way down) caused sound waves to be created. That's just conservation of energy. And regardless of whether there is an eardrum in the vicinity to receive those sound waves, or a brain to interpret them, the sound energy was there. Gosh, I'm really showing my scientific bias here. I'm sure if I were more philosophical I would have a different answer. Go ahead, ask me about eggs and chickens.

So, costumes. At the school my children attend, the kids are given themes for their Halloween costumes. The younger one needs to have a nursery rhyme costume, and the older needs to have a community helper costume. I'm sure that part of the reason the kids' school does this is to take some of the costume pressure off of the parents (the themes also complement learning units, and it's difficult to come up with gory or scarey costumes that fit into the themes), but for me, the pressure is intense. Our kids don't go trick or treating (sad, isn't it?), so if the school didn't have these costume themes, we wouldn't even have costumes.

The third grader wants to be a firefighter this year. I want him to be a firefighter. BUT, I don't want to buy yet another flimsy plastic firefighter coat that barely makes it to Halloween intact, and I also don't want to spend $60 or more to get a good quality fabric one. The other day, Cody said he was going to be a National Guard member, because he already has that costume. I mentioned that I thought he wanted to be a fire fighter and he said that he did, but that then I would have to buy a new costume and he didn't think I wanted to do that. Poor kid. I guess all these years of me saying that I'm not going to buy such and such a thing because it's not on sale have affected him. So I've been trying to think of other community helpers who don't require expensive and elaborate costumes...like a park ranger. (I haven't been able to come up with any that I can make out of a white bedsheet). This morning I thought of one (Cub Scout), gasped, and said, Cody, I know who's a community helper! And he said, "me." Yes, he is. As of this morning, Cody was planning to be a Cub Scout for Halloween, and I was wondering if I have time to make a firefighter coat and pants in the next 5 weeks (yes, I am nuts).

The younger one is going to be the spider who frightened Miss Muffet away whether he wants to be or not...