Boo

I take photographs so I don’t forget moments like these. My first Halloween as a mom, and this dear, silly, doggie moment – like much of that sleepless year – would have disappeared from my memory if I hadn’t captured it with my first little Canon Elph digital camera.

The person-ghost is my banana bread/scone friend Lisa. She’s been making me laugh since we were six. My kids call her Crazy Aunt Lisa, but she prefers Silly Aunt Lisa. The ghost-dog is Lisa’s canine niece Molly.

The dragon baby is now in third grade – the guinea pig. Easygoing by nature, he is still delightful, despite having to endure uneven parenting by tense first-timers. He’s been whimsical since he was a baby, and I hope he keeps that quality forever. Lisa is one of the few people I know that has. She and my dragon boy are both people of ideas and imagination. Their worlds are full of bright colors, laughter, amusing stories. Their favorite color is red. Their realism is magical.

I’m grounded to the extreme, so I marvel at the way they manage to float through life with lightness and enthusiasm. As a kid, Lisa would always dream that she could fly. My dreams were always about someone chasing me (now I dream I can’t find a clean bathroom). Lisa loves decorating cakes, elaborately wrapping gifts, staging comical photos (eg ghost dog above).

My dragon baby lives in a parallel world of his own wayward imagination. Sometimes his absentmindedness is exasperating, but more often it’s just shake-your-head funny. When he played baseball a couple of years ago, time in the outfield would set his mind wandering. Sometimes he’d be balancing his glove on his head. Other times he’d be practicing ninja moves. He’d try to engage his coaches in conversation: “Hey Coach T, what’s for snack today?” Coach T: “Focus, buddy, focus on the game!” Dragon baby: “I think I’ll focus better if I know what’s for snack.”

Halloween is a magical holiday. I’m celebrating it in the spirit of my magical friend Lisa and my magical dragon baby. May their feet never touch the ground.

Happy Halloween to you and yours!