The Monkey Who Became a Bee

I had decided early on in the year, being a new mom and all, what my baby was going to be for Halloween. There was no question - a monkey. We had come to this decision based on the obvious fact that we CALLED him monkey, just because he reminded us of one. Later on when he started grasping objects with his feet and then recently when he began climbing things (couch, furniture, his crib), well then the name MONKEY was completely justified.

I spent $25.00 on a costume in early September. For a costume that's probably only going to be worn for a few hours, if that, its a lot for me to spend. Remember - one income. My mom and I quickly pulled it over his clothes in the store, "it fits, let's go."

Had I taken the extra step to make sure the SNAPS actually SNAPPED on this $25.00 costume, I wouldn't have been in the predicament I was in only 3 days ago. Or was it FATE that intervened????

Sunday October 28th came around. I had a great start - I went to 8am Mass all by myself, returned home smiling, Dominic and DJ are giving him breakfast - perfect!! That great start turned to chaos since he decided he didn't want to take a nap. We had plans to go down to the city for Stroll on Southport with Mara, Ella, Joe, and a handful of others.

The anxiety was now setting in. Forget the nap, we HAVE to leave in half an hour. Lizzy needed to shower, and Massimo needed to be dressed. I couldn't wait to put the costume on. Crying and crabby, on top of a short sleeved onesie AND a long sleeved onesie, sweats, and a pair of warm socks, I struggled to get the thin, brown fleece on him. He cried and wailed. All I have to do it snap it shut and he's done. The first snap puzzled me - it wouldn't CLOSE. WAIT! None of these snaps will close??!! What's going on??? Lizzy is out of the shower, attempting to complete her beauty routine and she walks on on my conundrum, "THESE SNAPS DON'T WORK!!!!!"

She tries, "I got 3 closed," she smiled, the girl with the glass half full.

"I AM SO MAD!!!" I shouted. "We're not going!!!"

Baby's 1st Halloween, don't let the disappointment of this costume get the best of you

Okay, we fly out of the house, only I had to run back in twice for his hat, a blanket, oh, and yeah - my cell phone.

We went to Target, I RAN in and booked to the far corner where the costumes had been ravaged and picked over. DUCK?? nah...Pea Pod??...no legs, Bat??...not that GREAT.... and then I spy the costume you see in the post - THE BABY BUMBLE BEE!!! The light had shone down from heaven. NO SNAP!!! IT ZIPPED!! HOORAY!!

As I strolled, the weight of the world off my shoulders, only 15 minutes late by this time, ALL the way back across the store to check out, I began to think about how things usually don't turn out the way I plan and the biggest lesson I have not learned yet in my 32 years on this earth - - is how to actually DEAL with it.

I wanted so bad to have a little monkey for Halloween, but now I was going to have a Bumblebee.

After an AWESOME afternoon in the city with friends, I realized that maybe what you don't plan, the things we do in haste, and the times where things don't go the way you want, are really a blessing.

Last week I had hooked up with my BEST friend from high school after 11 years of not seeing her. Okay, we are so cheesy that we pulled out her yearbook and read what I had written (at 17 years old!!) "I'm nervous about the future," I wrote, "Will things turn out the way I want them too?? I hope so!!"

So, then I thought about how things had turned out, 15 years later. If my mom and Joe would have never started dating, Joe never would have gotten me the job at Lake Shore where I worked all through college, where I met Debbie Bruno, who got me the job working for Josh, where I made great friends who DRAGGED me to a birthday party where I met my gorgeous husband who gave me this BUMBLEBEE - who I can't imagine not ever existing!!

Did things turn out the way I wanted them too? In my experience, I have come to the realization that there IS A PLAN, although we aren't sure what it is and we're not the ones making it. We just watch it unfold.