Wednesday night, Bereket had her first of 3 costume parties this week. I always imagined getting dressed up for these special events would as magical as Halloween itself, but we were in a struggle. I bought Bereket an adorable and warm, long sleeved cheerleader outfit late last fall on clearance on Zulilly. It was cute and practical for trick or treating in Minnesota. Bereket knew for almost an entire year she was going to be a cheerleader for Halloween. She told everyone about her costume. Suddenly, 5 minutes before we needed to leave for her party, she refused to put it on. She now wanted to be a princess just like she had been for the past few years. The struggle was on!
That struggle continued into picture time. First Bereket refused to smile because she was mad I made her stick with the cheerleader costume. Then I gave her an old Vikings purple pom pom as an accessory. Suddenly she was too silly and crazy to sit still. Why was it so hard to get one simple, nice photo of my beautiful girl in her costume?
I gave up and Jason took Bereket to her party.
On Friday, Bereket had a costume parade at school. Jason had a light day at work and could leave early. He wanted to see his girl in her costume. Walking into the building, I thought maybe I could finally get a good Halloween picture.
Bereket had no idea we would be there. We saw her just outside of her classroom as she got into line for the parade. She ran over to hug me, overjoyed. She then got back into line and Jason and I went to find a place to watch the parade in the school hallway.
I looked for a spot with a good view point and took out my camera. Then the music started. Bereket's class lead the way. I lifted my camera when I first saw her, but there was no time to take a focused photo. She was already in a full sprint yelling, "Momma!" I snapped a quick blurry pic and then she was in my arms. Bereket wrapped her legs around my waist and held on tight. She had no intention of letting go.
It was the best hug ever. I was so proud, so happy. I wondered what I had ever done to deserve this amazing love.
Bereket's class moved on. Her friends and teacher yelled back to her to catch up. She reluctantly let go.
I was sad the hug was over. I was grateful I had experienced it. And I had the perfect, blurry photo to remember her running towards me. So much better than any perfectly posed picture.
Happy Halloween my sweet cheerleader. I promise you can be a princess again next year if you like.
