Halloween Party

Halloween Party

On the way to the Halloween party, she started to have second thoughts about her costume.

“But, I don’t want to be a dinosaur ballerina.” I assured her that she didn’t have to wear her costume.
“I want to be a camel.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t have a camel costume.”
“Do you have a crocodile costume?”

By the time we got to the party, and she saw that all the other kids were wearing costumes, she was thrilled to be a dinosaur ballerina again.

dinosaur ballerina - coffeejitters.net

This was the annual Halloween party for the kids at Gilda’s Club. Gilda’s Club is an amazing supportive resource for people whose lives have been impacted by cancer: the patient, and their family and friends as well. Their kids program is wonderful. Events like this kids party allow kids to make friends with other kids who have cancer in their lives, and build a support network of peers who understand what they are going through. The get a chance to be in a situation where having a mom with cancer is normal, and they’re not the weird one.

Gem is flourishing in this environment.

She loved the craft station, and is so proud of the mask she made.

craft time - coffeejitters.net

After a thorough consultation with the make-up artist, she finally decided on whiskers to complement her ensemble.

face painting - CoffeeJitters.net

Sitting still for the face painting was the hardest part.  It tickles.

face painting - CoffeeJitters.Net

The best sight of the evening was watching her perform an interpretive dance to the Halloween music.  Then she upped the bar and performed her dance inside the haunted house.

halloween dance - CoffeeJitters.Net

This is the first time she’s really gotten into Halloween, and she LOVED it.

happy halloween - coffeejitters.net

Raindrops

We got a couple days of rain last week, so I went out to see if I could get some good shots of the water collecting on the grasses.

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This last shot with the spider reminded me that Halloween is quickly approaching. Have you figured out what you are going to do for a costume yet?

Last year, with my bald head, grey skin, and chemo port sticking out of my chest, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to dress up as Borg. I had the costume pretty much ready to go, but I was so sick on Halloween, it just didn’t happen. They say you regret the things you didn’t do the most, I think not dressing up as a Borg will be one of those life long regrets.

Did someone just call me a nerd?

My post chemo hair is growing back with a lot more curl than I’m accustomed to. I was so looking forward to a cute short hairstyle like Winona Ryder or Natalie Portman or Emma Watson. But, no, no, no, I get Seth Rogan hair. That hair, combined with with additional weight from the steroids makes me think maybe I should just toss on a pair of sweats and and fake beard and go as Seth Rogan. No? My husband doesn’t think so either. I’ll think of something else.

Dear Gem – Month 19

Dear Gem – Month 19

Your vocabulary is just exploding. It’s not just one or two new words a day, it’s several. Big words, like squirrel and butterfly, which is nearly unintelligible, but I know what you’re saying. You’re picking up on concepts, too. The other day when we saw the peacock at the zoo, you pointed at it and said “blue.” You just told me “thank you” when I gave you some apple slices. Make a note, I know you know how to say thank you. It’s de regueur for you now.

This month has been busy. Last weekend we had a memorial service for my grandmother, your Great-Grandma McKinley. We called her Grandma Candy because your cousins, Max and Ilona, couldn’t pronounce Grandma McKinley when they were little. The name stuck.

Great Grandma McKinley

The picture above shows Grandma Candy holding you a few days after you were born. She hand knit the green blanket on her lap just for you. She was going blind and her hands were extremely arthritic. That means completing this blanket was a big challenge, but she didn’t let her fading eyesight or the pain in her hands stop her from making a blanket for you. Because she couldn’t see well, sometimes a mistake would slip through, and then great swathes of the blanket would have to be ripped out and re-knit to get it right, or “just so.” Grandma Candy would say “just so” when describing something that had been carefully and thoughtfully arranged. Someday when you are looking at that blanket, you will notice that a few holes and dropped stitches remain. I  hope that someday you will understand how precious that blanket is, and that those dropped stitches are precious too. She loved you very much.

Along with the memorial service, we had a big family reunion.  This was the first time for you to meet most of our extended family: your aunts and uncles and your cousins and second cousins and even third cousins.  There are more degrees of separation in there, but I’m completely baffled by calculating whether someone is a second cousin once removed.  I finally just settled on calling everyone cousin and left it at that.

You got along well with your cousins and you were charming with everyone. So many people stopped to comment on how sweet you were.  Daddy and I were so proud of you.

Right after the family reunion, it was time for trick or treating.  You were a zebra this year, fitting after all the time we spent at the zoo.  You were a little scared of the costume at first, but once we got it on you, you roared.  That’s your thing lately, you like to roar.  So I should rephrase.  You were a ferocious zebra this year.

baby in ferocious zebra costume

I am baby, hear me roar

You still love to color and draw. It is your favorite way to pass the time.  You lie down on the floor with your feet kicked up, and color for hours on end. I bring crayons and paper with us everywhere we go.

gem drawing in her journal

You sit on your green chair with the white polka dots, with your little bare feet sticking out and your toes wiggling while you fill up your journal with pictures like this:

baby picasso

I love seeing you so happy. There’s something about wiggling toes that goes hand in hand with happiness, too. You can’t stay in a bad mood and wiggle your toes at the same time. Try it. I dare you.

I love you so much.

Mommy

The Hearse

Perhaps I’m channeling my inner goth when I say this, but I’ve always had a thing for hearses. Sure, they’re dark and macabre, with an air of mystery, but there is also an element of grace and elegance.

In preparation for Halloween, our local grocery store set up this antique, horse-drawn model. So beautiful.

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And here she is all dressed up for Halloween.

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Personally, I subscribe to the “less is more” camp when it comes to decorating, but I love the way the store is getting in the mood for the holiday.

What part of Halloween are you looking forward to the most? The candy? Babies in costumes? The parties? Or do you just endure until it all ends?