Benjamin Bee

Happy Halloween everybody! This has never been my favorite holiday. It ranks somewhere below Easter but above Flag Day. Growing up, we dressed up and trick-or-treated in the cold. Our neighborhood was sufficiently dark and spooky, too. We would return home to have our grandmother give away candy that we had just collected as the house supply wore out. Joyce, Stephanie and I would trade and barter our stash (and I'm certain that Joyce bamboozled me for years on end...) We watched the Charlie Brown special. We crafted new and unusual places to hide the candy so that others would never find it. I think once we were cleaning out our room and found a pillowcase full of stale Mary Janes and Mounds. (I promised myself that I would never give out that stuff to unsuspecting kids!) To add insult to injury, Mom would often schedule our dental appointments the following day or the coming week. It just so happened that early November was always our checkup. SO, let's just say that IF I was ever enthusiastic about Halloween, it quickly faded as the evening wore on. But, we always, for years on end, had beautiful, one-of-a-kind, handcrafted costumes made by Mom. We'd make a Saturday of going to the fabric store and selecting our colors and fabric. Mom would spend the next few weekends putting together not ONE costume, but THREE for her little girls. I guess she loved it.

Benjamin was a little bee for Halloween this year. Kevin insisted that we must call him a yellow jacket because that is more fierce. You saw the title of this posting, right? He was a bee. And Benji's mama made his costume.....you can tell. I found the black and yellow fabric months ago for only $5.00. I figured - this will be fun. It was not fun. I had no pattern. The only "bee" pattern I could find was for a dog. Ben is actually bigger than most dogs now, so I didn't bother buying it. So without a pattern or a clue, I pressed forward and worked out a little black jumpsuit with a hood and a striped outer shell. I was very proud of myself - till I put it on the little guy and his antennae drooped to his ears and the stripes were so thick he started chewing on them. I laughed and cried at the same time. He was a cute little bee. But I felt sad for him because he is going to have to deal with my costume incompetence for the remainder of his Halloweens. I hope next year he says "I don't want a costume Mom. I want to stay in and read." I won't hold my breath.

Benjamin seemed to enjoy his first Halloween. Christianne brought him a pumpkin votive earlier in the week that he loves to dine by. That was a nice start to the festivities. Friends came over for a few snacks and Kevin and Ben headed out while I manned the house. It was rainy and humid, but they managed to visit several neighbors and see other children passing by along the way. They brought home a plastic pumpkin filled with a few treats and a bottle, of all things, which we had left up the street at a neighbor's barbeque two weeks ago. Well, it was good thing I slaved over the bee costume or who knows if we'd ever have gotten that bottle back! I had fun, despite myself. It was fun thinking about what Ben must be thinking when he sees goblins and ghosts and spooky lights. And it was sweet thinking about how he will probably grow into a little boy that will love Halloween night, trekking about the neighborhood with Papa at his heels. I am determined to never express my true disdain for Halloween in Ben's presence. I will allow him to enjoy the spirit of the silliness as much or as little as he wants. And as for costumes, maybe if we put in our order now, Grandma Gloria will have Ben's ready just in time for next year.