Mom (left) circa 1952 dressed as Mary’s little lamb in her second grade school play.
Life doesn’t always go as planned.
After living nearly six decades, it’s a lesson I know oh so very well. And I was reminded of this fact recently when my beloved mother passed away.
She had been ill for some time, and lately, she was in the hospital more than out.
The decision to end her treatment was one I expected she would make, but that decision came sooner than anticipated.
And, so it was that my sisters and I moved back home and stayed with her while she finished this life’s journey in the care of Hospice.
While we tended to Mom, we took the opportunity to reminisce, pulling out photo albums and recalling past events.
Naturally, Halloween brought up fond memories.
Mom informed me that I did indeed wear the bunny costume, and she had receipts to prove it.
This image is dripping with Mid-Century Modern – the harvest yellow leaf bowl, the television with dials, and my lace up (non-sneaker) shoes – but the costume is all that remains today.
We sifted through the pictures of ourselves in costumes forged from everyday items, recalling the brisk Autumn evenings when we were shuttled from house to house to trick or treat.
Neighbors we knew well feigned fear as we reached out to grab homemade popcorn balls, candy apples, and chocolate bars.
Aren’t we a pair! I’m not sure what we were – part clown, part ragamuffin?
Those shoes are my dad’s. It’s a wonder how I kept them on my feet and managed to walk.
We talked of assembling our costumes from Mom’s closet and jewelry box and how we got into character for a night of frightful fun.
We recollected school Halloween parades, church costume parties, and trading treats after a long evening of begging.
A witch, a devil and a mustached bandit walked into a …. stop me if you’ve heard this one.
Our mother loved to be creative. She enjoyed sewing, crocheting, ceramics, macramé, and crafting, leaving me many fond memories of time spent just making “things.”
Even my costume couldn’t escape her creative twist – an old heavy sheet, some safety pins, and a tie around the waist topped up with fangs and face paint.
Oh, and my red eyes? Courtesy of the camera.
I thank her for always encouraging my creativity and ensuring I had plenty of crayons, colored pencils, glue, yarn, fabric, construction paper, and paint for all my masterpieces.
A woggle of witches were we!
Notice that witchy broomstick? Sadly, it is long gone but I’m on the hunt and keeping my eyes open in hopes to find one for our collection.
Even into adulthood, she supported my little Halloween obsession often gifting me spooky trinkets and sending haunted memes.
And whenever the need arose for her to get into costume, I was the one she would call to help with the planning.
There’s that bunny again along with my favorite green witchy mask, and what looks to be that same heavy sheet from years before.
We were recycle, reuse, repurpose before it was cool.
I will miss her deeply, but the legacy she left me is one I will always cherish.
Thanks for your patience as I paused this blog in order to spend precious time with my mother. New projects will be coming soon.
Until next time – stay spooky.
