When my daughter Mari was five years old, I went to WalMart to find a cute costume for her to wear for Halloween. I’d seen inflatable costumes before but they were usually silly ones like a sumo wrestler, or a fat woman in a bikini. Those never interested me nor did I think they were that great. However, this in particular year they had some of the cutest costumes. One of which was a big purple dinosaur with yellow horns on the back. It was perfect and I picked it up.
When I got it home, I installed the C batteries it required and put it on Mari. To say this costume was cute is a complete understatement. I can’t even put into words how truly adorable she was.
That year Halloween fell on a school day. I got her dressed in her costume and sent her off. I came to school later that day for the class party and the comments were priceless. They couldn’t quit raving about it. Mari was the hit of the day. So many loved how she looked in it.
The school did a little parade and I held her hand as we walked around the school to show off everything everyone was wearing.
I don’t know how much Mari really understood about what was going on (she had severe classic autism), but she had a big smile plastered to her face at all times. She was a happy little girl.
That night we went trick-or-treating and the little costume went swish-swish as she walked. I think every adult who saw her commented how adorable she was. Just thinking back on it makes me smile.
I’m saddened, as I can’t seem to find a picture of it right now. I know I have one but due to the move it’s probably packed away in some box somewhere. If I find one I will make sure to post it.
