Halloween Drama Queen

Emma has never been one for parading in front of throngs of curious onlookers. We learned this the hard way. Her first year of preschool when she was a mere 3 years old, her school put on a Christmas show. She turned around and refused to face the audience. She was so uncomfortable. It was hard to be upset with her when I felt so sorry for her. She was just a baby after all. But as the years passed, we expected more from her. And she met and/or exceeded our expectations. She was no longer shy but rather anxiously anticipated the performances.

So imagine our surprise when she awoke this morning, the day of her school's annual Halloween parade, with anxiety which she masked as a headache. I gave her some children's Tylenol and told her that she'd feel better quickly. But she wasn't convinced. I think she was unsure of her costume, how she'd look, how she'd compare to the other girls in her class. After a little pep talk from me, she was ready to go to school. All this after having missed the bus. Ugh!

I anticipated receiving a phone call from the school nurse at some point in the morning. I ran my errands, and even managed to buy a new pair of boots without a phone call. At 2:00 we grabbed the camera and headed to the school. I just love this parade. The kids are so cute. Who can resist little ones all dressed up?

This smiley child was not who I expected to see. As it turned out, Emma marched proudly. She had fun, and even went so far as to say that this was the best parade yet! Who would've guessed after the morning we had??

My sweetheart bat.