Halloween is my boys’ favorite holiday. I don’t know if it’s the pumpkins, things that go bump in the night, or the plethora of sugar they enjoy so much, but dressing up for trick or treat is even bigger than Christmas at my house. In fact, the boys have been trying to decide what they were going to be for Halloween since last Halloween.
And every week — all year long — it’s been something different. Every time I thought we’d come to a decision, they went and changed their minds again.
But with the final day closing in on us, I forced the boys to make a choice. The costumes have been purchased, and I broke the news to them that they can’t change their minds anymore.
Begrudgingly, the boys have come to terms with this. So they’ve already moved on and started planning their Halloween costumes for next year.
While they are thinking about the future, I’m just trying to get this through this year. Costume planning has worn me out. Although it was a hard decision to make, the boys finally settled on being Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). Problem solved … or so I thought. No, we next had to spend our time debating which color they should be. Don’t try to tell me boys don’t care about accessories. Ultimately, the final decision came down to what the turtle carries. They went with orange and blue for the nunchucks and sword.
I’m just glad we don’t have to discuss it anymore. (And I’m truly hoping the boys don’t try to trade costumes back and forth up until D-Day.)
What has kept me somewhat entertained during all this Halloween planning is that what goes around comes around — as in back around.
When my parents told me about the trends in the cycles of fashion, I thought they were crazy.
As if the 80s would ever return, I thought as I finally discarded those red jeans.
But now, you can step out of your house on any given day, and clearly see that the 80s have, in fact, returned, in more ways than one.
Being back at school has taken me straight into a time warp. The kids are rocking the styles of the 80s just as we did. I’ve seen sideways ponytails, big hair, neon colors, stonewashed jeans, shirts tied to the side and the old plain-Jane Keds and high tops.
And the reintroduction of the TMNTs has really pushed me to recognize that what’s cool once will in fact be cool again; you’ve just got to wait around for it.
After the original TMNT TV show debuted in America in 1987, my husband was the red turtle for Halloween. This fact has already put him into a higher ranking with the boys. I don’t think I was ever one of the Turtles, but of course I knew who they were, and liked the purple one the best, because that was my favorite color.
I’ve always looked back on old photos of myself and laughed. Teased hair, big T-shirts and even T-shirt clips — yes, I had it all. But, I guess I should just pull out those old pictures and try to prove to my kids that a long, long time ago, I was cool too.
