"Honey!" I said, "I just got the CUTEST little Engineer's outfit for Cam for Halloween today...but now I have to figure out how to make his wagon look like a train. I'm going to hit Pinterest."
This was something I had been dreading. I have the artistic talent and vision of a gnat. I had been wrestling with Cam's Halloween costume idea for months, I WANTED to do a train engineer because it would really capture his current interests, but I worried that a) it would not be deemed elaborate enough (by which judge and jury I wasn't exactly sure, but isn't that always the way with motherhood? We always fear the Phantom Jury) and b) I just knew it wouldn't be complete with out the wagon-as-a-train-engine prop and I didn't trust myself to pull it off. But, I had been praying about it and the ONLY costume in Cam's size I'd been able to find at Wal-Mart that day was A FREAKING TRAIN ENGINEER, so that sealed the deal. And now I had to get artsy. And my stomach was in my throat.
"Psssh, no need!" Jeff said, as I picked up my phone and prepared to open the Pinterest app. "We have cardboard, zip ties, one-by-twos and a staple gun. Just get me some paint at the store. I got this."
"On the next episode of MacGyver..." I quipped, referencing the 1980's TV action hero played by Richard Dean Anderson whose "thing" was fashioning whatever device was needed for the situation from whatever he found lying around.
In truth, however, I was stunned by both his interest and his confidence. Jeff has never been a fan of Halloween, he's always considered the whole "coming up with a costume" and "decorating" thing a burden, and yet here he was, volunteering to spend hours making a wagon into a choo-choo train. I also hadn't ever seen him take on a project like this, so I had no idea that he felt so confident in this skillset. And I also didn't know how confident I could be in his skillset.
In the next moment, however, the epiphany of the significance of what Daddy was offering here hit me: This Daddy wanted to make his son a train engine for Halloween. Cam will be a grown adult some day looking back of pictures of the Halloween when he was 1 1/2 and whether he looks with admiration on a beautiful piece of art attached seamlessly to his wagon or with a chuckle at something resembling a train falling half on and half off of the wagon, he will see in that picture how much his Daddy was excited about his Halloween and wanted to make something special for him. He will feel hugged in his heart and that is more important than anything. Pinterest Tribe and my mommy cred be goshdarned, this was happening and I was going to hold Jeff's beer and hand him the zip ties while he got his Daddy on. :-)
Two nights before Halloween, we put Cam to bed and Jeff took to the garage. Beer in hand, Dave Matthews on the speakers, he measured and planned and cut and stapled and mapped, I painted and ate candy.
The night before Halloween, most of the paint and glue were dry and the process of attaching the MacGyver Express to the Radio Flyer began. At one point, the door to the garage opened and the unmistakable odor of REALLY, REALLY HOT HEAT came wafting out. "Honey, why do you have a blow torch?" I asked suspiciously. "Don't worry about it," he replied, both dismissive and secretive.
The result of these efforts was even more adorable than I could have imagined and Cam was delighted. The whole Halloween thing was a bit rocky, Cam was tired and slightly overwhelmed by the whole thing but he ADORED that train. He and his friend "Coh-tee" (Colton) were riding in style in his "CHAIN! CHAIN! CHOOOOOOOOO-CHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
I hope your Halloween had special moments in it like ours did and that you're now geared up and ready for the upcoming holidays!
Hugs,
Tori
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