Halloween Talk

This morning, Julia had Halloween on the brain, as she sat at the table with her milk and chattered away at me.

JULIA: Mom?  Did you know that even though it was raining all day yesterday, I actually APPRECIATED the weather, because it made things feel more SPOOKY?  Like, it just felt really dark and spooky outside while I was upstairs watching a Halloween Lizzy McGuire in Madeleine's room.
ME: Oh, good, I'm glad you didn't mind the rain.  It DID seem kind of spooky with all the dark clouds.
JULIA: And Mom?  Why do you think it is that when I watch things like "Harry Potter," I feel like they're doing REAL spells, but when it's things like "Dora," it seems like the spells are NOT really real?
ME: I don't know.
JULIA: Maybe it's because it's, like, REAL people doing spells instead of, like, CARTOONS.
ME: Yeah, maybe you're right.
JULIA: But Mom?  What OTHER reasons can you think of for why they seem like real spells?
ME: Uh, I think it's like you said.  When you see real people acting the roles, it seems more realistic than in cartoons.
JULIA: But Mom.  Are there any OTHER reasons you can think of?
ME: Um...maybe because the words to the spells in things like "Harry Potter" sound more authentic?
JULIA: (in total agreement) Yeah!  Mom!  Because, like, when it's not very real, they're just, like, "Abracadabra, alakazam, turn this zebra...into a PAN!" and stuff like that.  That doesn't sound very REAL.

I've got a little secret for you, Julia.  NONE OF IT IS REAL.  "Expecto Patronum!" is just as fabricated as "Abracadabra."  But I guess Daniel Radcliffe REALLY sells it when he casts a spell, as opposed to the girl who voices Dora the Explorer.

Julia was still in the Halloween spirit as we set off in the cloudy drizzle for school this morning.  Turning back to face me as she skipped along the sidewalk, she announced, "Mom?  I appreciate THIS weather, too!"

I'm so glad she's able to make lemonade out of the weather lemons, even as we're walking through muggy, drizzly grossness.

On my walk back with Madeleine, after we had dropped Julia at school, the subject changed.

MADELEINE: Mommy?  When are we going to see Yiayia again?
ME: Well, probably this coming weekend.
MADELEINE: But why?
ME: Because, I'm running in a race that's in Connecticut, so we'll probably get to see Yiayia.
MADELEINE: Well Mama.  Am I gonna WIN the race?
ME: Uh...
MADELEINE: So Mama.  Can you just get super TIRED?  So that I can win?  Because you're ALWAYS getting tired every day.


I can say it's very likely I'll be getting tired during the race.  We'll just side-step the whole issue of Madeleine not actually being eligible to run it.


And in other Madeleine news, although she had a great time at her birthday party, she is certainly taking no pleasure in the thank-you card process.  We made it through three cards today, before deciding to take a break until tomorrow.


Card #1: Madeleine, grumpy about having to sign her own name, announced: "M, A, and here's an ANGRY D!" before making a giant, balloning D in the middle of the card.


Card #2: Madeleine's response, when I asked her what she particularly liked about a certain part of a gift: "Well, it's not really very INTERESTING."


Card #3: Upon being asked to sign her name, Madeleine heaved a big, irritated sigh, and complained, "Ugh!  Why do I have to do it AGAIN?  I already did it TWO TIMES!"

Life's tough, man.  I think maybe we'll try a few cards a day...and maybe it will be Mommy's job to write about what's exciting about the presents, rather than including Madeleine's own opinion!