"Trick or Treak" October 2007
by Sue Sokoff
I have to say that I dread the day when Kyle's slightly mispronounced words are corrected and gone forever! I hold onto those words like treasures and without guilt. I know this must mortify speech pathologists, but those little malaprops are just so darn cute. I say I'm guilt free because I don't actually reinforce the wrong pronunciation, (but I don't immediately correct them either). Now I believe in progress just like any parent, but holding onto these jewels just a while longer cannot be all that harmful. As of today, we are down to "suppaghetti" and "Trick or Treak."
I am more excited than ever about "Trick or Treak," Kyle's definition of Halloween, this year because it is the first year that Kyle has identified with characters he has seen on TV or in the movies with which to make a dress-up connection! He recently has taken a liking to Clifford the Big Red Dog and Spider-Man. He recently started requesting to watch Clifford in the mornings before school and he loved the Spider-Man III movie.
Maybe it is because he likes red. I've noticed Kyle will wink at women who wear red fingernail polish! Regardless of the reason, I have waited for this moment for several years. Finally, I don't have to pick out a costume for Kyle and feel like he is just humoring me! So, together we went on our own amazing costume shopping adventure this week. We could not find Clifford, but we did find Spider-Man. Once again, Spidey saves the day! When we got home Kyle wanted to immediately try on Spider-Man. He stood in front of a full-length mirror and for the first time tolerated me slipping a cloth mask over his head. He actually allowed it to stay on for more than 30 seconds and we talked about how he could see through the webbed eyes and breathe from the two holes in the mask. I could tell that he liked being Spider-Man because he turned a little to the left, then a little to the right to admire his profile. He was a Superhero for that moment and I felt a little like "Nacho Libre" myself!
Now, I know that there will be hundreds of Spideys running around out there for Halloween. But there will be only one special Spidey in his red suit and mask that might swagger up to your door and say, "Trick or Treak!" Give him a little extra "treak," won't you? After all, he's waited for nine years, too.