Let’s be honest, we all love pretending to be someone else every now and then right? Sometimes I pretend to be Diane Von Furstenberg when I really feel my style stride rocking, other times I pretend I am some super talented pro surfer when I paddle out, and most other times, I just pretend to be skinny in my head. My pretending doesn’t really hurt anyone, but it sure does make me feel awesome.
 
I played hookie today, I would say go tell my boss, but I am the boss and now and then when it hits eighty degrees on a Friday you honor the weather and the ocean, work will still be there. Not only did I have fake vacation Friday with myself and a stack of trashy mags, but I was magically sprinkled with magic Halloween dust too.
 
I was in recline mode on my beach chair applying sunscreen, when I looked up and saw a mommy and a three-year-old blonde princess walking behind her. Mom was overloaded carrying an umbrella, a beach bag and some sand toys, while Little Miss Princess was confidently skipping in the sand, as she rocked her Halloween costume on the beach. It wasn’t really a sundress kind of costume, it was made from one of those awful unbreathable types of fabrics, a very multi-layered number; bright yellow, with long puffy sleeves, and silver piping. Princess girl was fully committed. She also wore white tights and a sparkly crown, bedazzled jewels and a pink Disney purse.

As I reviewed her wardrobe, I heard myself say out loud “Yeah, Princess, you go girl!”

Rock the princess!
 
I can just imagine the pre beach departure banter. You so know mom tried her darnedest to talk Little Miss Princess right out of that costume into her proper swimwear, explaining how the ocean might possibly ruin it or instilling the fear of some other mommy type of fib into her head to convince Princess that swimwear trumps Halloween costume when going to the beach—but, Little Miss Princess was not having any of it.

I love that she won the fight to rock Princess at the beach today. Good for her.
 
As I watched Little Miss Princess play in the sand, flashbacks of Halloween costumes past flew through my head: a baton twirler, Charlie’s Angles, Snow White…. suddenly I remembered just how wondrous Halloween is for kids. I mean, let’s face it, Halloween is really a hall pass to party and play dress up for a few weeks.
 
As we grow older, this holiday becomes this tiresome responsibility to be uber creative and show up to some party we probably don’t even want to go to, hoping we have the most unique costume and smile,  however uncomfortable it is. And God forbid if anyone show up wearing the same costume.
 
By the way,  Batman showed up with his dad to the beach an hour later, as did Casper The Friendly Ghost.  I was just smiling with joy at these school-aged kids with such strong sense of spirit and individuality.  Batman didn’t really care that   his super black long sleeved costume was less than proper beach attire, neither did I.
 
My nephew Cole has been Batman for three weeks now; he chooses to wear his costume to bed, in the yard to play 24/7and to school everyday as many kids do this time of year. I asked my sister yesterday how dirty that thing is by now; she said “oh he peed in it again yesterday, so I finally had to wash it.” Brilliant.
 
Halloween reminds us....

I’m not such a fan of Halloween; it’s just an annoying holiday thanks to the adults who just ruin it with their overachieving costuming. But today, a Princess, Casper and Batman just reminded me how super awesome Halloween really is. It’s so colorful and full of color, everyone is floating on some weird Halloween high, acting like some quirky character while
wearing random polyester fabric, smiling, laughing and letting go of all those ridiculous rules we adults project. And no one gets arrested for this behavior.
 
Halloween is truly an example of the innocence of childhood, where we just live in make believe for a few weeks, and that is without doubt, worth the twenty-dollar and above price tag of all those costumes moms, dads and aunties are swooping up.
 
With all the play these costumes get during October, maybe as a means to be more eco friendly, we can have kids choose a costume and stick to it for about a year and forget all those cute clothes we spend so much money on?  I should maybe cut back on that Halloween dust, because we Aunties love to get our shop on!