Magic in the Mix

A bright blue cape. A red sparkle skirt. The iconic “S” emblazoned on the chest. This year’s Halloween costume of choice? Super Girl. It had been carefully curated months in advance, and she proudly paraded it in the after school celebration.

And then, Eleanor changed her mind.

And she had plenty of time to obsess about it, because there were no classes on Friday, thanks to parent-teacher conferences. {Et tu, administrators?}

First, she was definitely going to be Super Girl. Then….she wanted to be a witch. For sure. Absolutely. No! Wait! A vampire! Well, maybe Super Girl after all…Round and round it went, all day long. Costume 1! 2! 3! 1.1. 2. 1. 3! 2.2. 1. 3.3.3!

With less than an hour to go, it was settled. She was really really really sure. A vampire.

One. Slight. Problem.

While we had a complete Super Girl costume, and also had a witch’s hat and broom, the only piece of vampire-gear we owned was the pair of plastic teeth.

Time for some ninja Martha Stewart moves. Except, I’m not exactly Martha-esque. So let’s just say her costume included a black T-shirt from her dentist turned inside out {points for irony, right?} and a cape sewn together with six different pieces of fabric, no pattern, and threads still hanging off the ends as we ran out the door.

The rest of the evening, thankfully, unfolded exactly as planned. Dinner with her BFF, followed by running in the dark. With no rain. For Halloween in the PNW, this is as good as it gets.

Then sometime during the night the Switch Witch transformed the candy my allergy-ridden children can’t eat into a treat that they love.

And so Saturday morning I awoke to hollers of joy. Magic in the Mix had been left behind, soon to be devoured. We curled up in our pj’s right next to one another, and were happily reading aloud to one another when there was a sudden stop.

Eleanor was suspicious about the identity of the Switch Witch. “Are you actually the witch, the same way you are Santa? Look me in the eye and tell me THE TRUTH.” {Santa? Me? This was a conversation we have never had. I am still adjusting to the events of last year’s holiday with her much older brother}.

I took a slow breath, looked at her skeptically and asked “What evidence do you have that says I am the witch?” Silence. “Listen to your heart, what does it tell you about magic?” A moment of nothing. And then there was a quiet, reassured sigh.

As much as children want to know the truth, the truth they want to know is that love and magic are alive and well in the world.

Did I lie to her? Not in the least. I let her developmental stage inform her truth. She is a Super Girl. One day, she’ll become Wonder Woman. But right now she is in the Switch. In that place of childhood where anything is possible. Where everything can still have magic, if you choose to believe.

One more glance into my eyes and she nestled back into my side. And we returned to reading, returned to the land where there is still magic in the mix.

And for you? What magic lingers? Where are the red sparkles? And capes of blue? Where do you still meet your child for adventure? I’d love to know. Keep me posted.