Dressing up has never been a favorite of mine. Sure, I dream of a day when I'm famous and wealthy, and I have a team of professionals that gather and stuff me into fabulous gowns and pull on my hair, ironing and straightening. But I am far from that day. As much as I appreciate my mom or others buying me clothes at my current age, I completely detested it when I was younger:
the constant in-and-out of dressing room doors and spinning and turning slightly to the left, then back to the right.
“ I am not here to rain on your parade, but perhaps to say, ‘Have your parade, please. I will be inside, upstairs taking a nap or washing dishes and if there is time, maybe we can meet up later and you can tell me how your parade went.’”
As a child, when it came time for Halloween, I was excited but hesitant. I was excited because it had been talked up as a children’s holiday and complete strangers offered you their best candy. Oh man, the candy. Just the permission to veg out on candy, especially when you are young and you are not aware of the consequences and effects that that amount of sugar can do to your health and teeth (Maybe that’s why Jack-O-Lanterns have crooked, and often, missing teeth). But the stress of the costume is what would ultimately take me out of the game. The stress of being funny, scary or simply creative is something that I have never found a peace in.
With all that being said, Halloween starts a torturous series of holidays for me; a season where for 4-5 months in a row I have to make plans, come out of my shell and make sure to celebrate with the ones I love. Please do not get me wrong: I love my friends and family-- I just hate being forced to have a 5,000 calorie meal with them. And don’t get me wrong, I like 5,000 calorie meals, but still, holidays are more stressful for me than fun. It may seem selfish, but I think it's fair to not want to be a part of the status quo sometimes. I am not here to rain on your parade, but perhaps to say, “Have your parade, please. I will be inside, upstairs taking a nap or washing dishes and if there is time, maybe we can meet up later and you can tell me how your parade went.”
So to wrap this all up, I will be dressing up this Halloween. My plan is to do my best with what I find and not stress myself out. I have an artist friend that likes to make things so she will be helping with one costume idea, and I am performing in a show on Halloween night so I will also have to have a costume for that. That’s right-- After all this, I will be rocking not one, but two Halloween costumes this year. Wish me luck... cue Vincent Price laugh from the end of Thriller.