on becoming a cat person
the end of august is a perfectly normal time to start discussing halloween costumes in our house. and by “discussing,” i am actually referring to a complex, multi-step process wherein i decide what my children’s costumes are going to be (i am, after all, the decider), and slowly introduce my conclusions in sneaky and subtle ways until the other members of my family are reveling in their own flashes of costume insight (which were, of course, my own flashes of costume insight in the first place).
this system has worked beautifully in the past. every october for four years, i have successfully molded my children into little reflections of my own sense of humor, and in two cases, my own love of all things dr. seuss.
but this year, we have run into a little snafu. it seems that the monkey is now capable of independent thought. and in a giant act of rebellion against his canine-loving parents and select members of his extended family, the four-year-old has been unwavering in his commitment to be a “kitty cat” for halloween. this comes as quite a blow to andy and me, who have been plotting with another family to trick-or-treat as the entire cast of characters from yo gabba gabba.
just as andy and i were arguing over who would make a better DJ lance and pontificating about where we might obtain an orange jump suit, the words “kitty cat” were released into the environs. i must admit that my first inclination was to try to talk the monkey into being brobee or muno. but i did manage to choke out a hollow-sounding, “oooohhh, a kitty cat, huh? what color kitty cat?”
andy assured me that the kitty cat notion would be fleeting. he was wrong. the monkey has dug in his proverbial claws.
i could tell myself that the monkey’s halloween costume isn’t very important in the grand scheme of things. i could probably work my decider magic one more year and resume my ebay search for an orange jumpsuit. but i really think that this halloween costume debacle is one of my first opportunities to demonstrate concretely to my child that his ideas matter. the monkey has given me the perfect reminder that though part of my job is to influence who he becomes, another very important part entails celebrating who he already is.
so, this october 31st, our little monkey will be a kitty cat. what’s more, he will have the best damn kitty cat costume in the history of halloween. i will do anything for this child, including becoming a cat person.
Tags: brobee, cat person, costume, dj lance, halloween, kitty cat, muno, october, yo gabba gabba
August 25th, 2010 at 8:51 am
As I am a Leo and a true cat lover, I applaud McCool’s choice. There are so many possibilities for a feline-family “pride” display…Enjoy!
August 25th, 2010 at 9:37 am
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
August 25th, 2010 at 9:52 am
I am with you- Yo Gabba Gabba would have been great! Maybe next year.
August 25th, 2010 at 9:58 am
The first year my niece choose her own costume, she was a PIG! She was the cutest pig ever, and McCool will be the coolest, cutest cat ever!
August 25th, 2010 at 10:13 am
Sophie has always had eccentric picks….one year she was Princess Leah bu she had NEVER EVER once watched Star Wars or even knew who Princess Leah was…she had just seen an iconic pic of her with those stupid side buns and decided right then that Leah was her girl. I have no doubt that you will make the best damn kitty costume ever!!!!
August 25th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
How about a “Cat in the Hat?” theme??? OOhh, Alice in Wonderland?
August 25th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Oh dear…the question is, what color kitty cat? Pink? Black? Because currently, my 3 year old is running around the house with a rope of those glow in the dark bracelets, held at the top of his head as his “ponytail.” This has been going on for three days. They don’t glow anymore, but he still has a ponytail. And I believe the words “I want to be Jasmine (from Aladdin)” have come out at least once….I think I need to blog about this! So I am just wondering if the Monkey and his buddy Jack are bucking the system because they are at that age….
August 25th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
We were confirmed dog lovers until we visited the House of Mews one day. Bosco and Beatrice, brother and sister tabbies, became part of our home and our hearts. Unfortunately, Bosco is no longer with us, but Beatrice is sitting here right next to the keyboard (her usual spot) and says hi. I miss the days of Halloween costumes although I never really thought about them until the beginning of October. Sometimes it was the middle of October which narrowed down our options. My favorite was William as a turtle.
August 25th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
This is just the beginning of letting them make their own choices, You are doing a great job by being supportive. Sometimes, the ideas will not work, but that is all part of the learning process. The trick is to make the ones that don’t work a learning thing. The ones that do, a triumph.
August 25th, 2010 at 8:53 pm
One year I spent days, maybe weeks making Noah an alligator costume. On Halloween he refused to wear it saying it was scary. It was excellent with this great headpiece, ping pong ball eyes, teeth and a tail wired with coat hangers. He ended up wearing only the tail and green sweatsuit. Folks thought he was a lizard. Now he passes out candy and I’m sad he feels he too old to dress up. Celia was a banana last year which was most excellent.
The Yo gabbas scare me, I have nightmares about Jack Black in the orange suit dancing to the “there’s a party in my tummy” song. I think the writers are on LSD.
August 26th, 2010 at 8:03 am
Perhaps Yo gabba gabba really is considering adding a cat to its cast of characters and the monkey has seen something that no one else has…quantum physics…that’s all I’m sayin’
As far as cat mothers go…you are the cat’s meow!m
August 26th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
I am so grateful for this information. I confess I continue to try to manipulate my preferences into certain of my children’s wishes. It has a cycle: back to school (shoes, church clothes); September (birthday party theme); October (halloween costume, winter coat); around Christmas-shopping season I do relax a bit and allow Santa to bring something from the actual list (as long as it’s not stupid!). Aren’t these the things we daydreamed about when we pondered motherhood as young girls? The things my mother had authority over… it’s MY turn!
Hang in there – plenty of time for him to forget his choice ; )
My almost-9-year-old won’t let me get away with it any more. Now she thinks she’s in charge of manipulating her brother’s wishes.