Firefighter to the rescue!

October 31, 2009

To help my son choose what he would be for Halloween, we sat down to browse through a costume catalog.  I was charmed by how carefully he examined those that interested him. 

“Does the spaceman come with a spaceship?”    

“Does the Spiderman have real webs?”

“If you are Thomas the Train, do you get to blow smoke out of your head?”

He was ambivalent about which was the best option until we neared the end of the catalog and he spied it.  “I can be a firefighter?” he asked hopefully. 

As Halloween neared, people began asking him what he was going to be.  He proudly announced that he was going to be a firefighter. 

His costume became part of our nightly ritual.  He gathered all his firefighter tools and placed them in the middle of the kitchen floor, where they would be ready in case the alarm sounded.

I was in trouble if I accidentally tripped on his ax, which he lovingly calls a chop chop, or got tangled up in his whistle while doing the dishes. 

He wore his firefighter hat while watching his firefighter movie, or eating crackers, or dancing around the living room in his underwear. 

He blared a line from one of his favorite library books into his toy walkie-talkie, “Firefighter to the rescue!”  Then he’d make a mad dash around the house with his chop chop at the ready. 

And then I dropped the bomb.  I presented him with a special bag for his treats, and explained that on Halloween night he’d put on his costume and go from house to house saying trick or treat.  I thought he’d be thrilled to fill his bag with candy.

“But when will I get to put out fires?” he asked. 

All this time, he’d thought for one special, magical day called Halloween, he would be transformed into a real, grown-up firefighter.  I had inadvertently played a nasty trick on my trusting, literal three-year-old. 

Of course he was confused.  I showed him pictures of all the different costumes and asked, “What would you like to be?”  He plays pretend firefighter every day.  This was his chance to really BE a firefighter. 

My son believed that on Halloween he would become one of the grown-up firefighters he admires.  He’d be strong and his chop chop would really cut through doors and he’d spray real water from a real fire hose.  My son would give up a lifetime supply of candy for just one day as a grown-up firefighter. 

I think he’s slowly coming to terms with his disappointment.  Last week he said, “I don’t want Halloween.”  I told him we should wait and see how he feels when it gets here.  He might just change his mind. 

By the end of the week, he was asking when Halloween would arrive.  I asked him if he was getting excited.  He said, “Let’s wait and see how I feel.” 

Something tells me, when he sees that big bowl of candy next to the door, he’ll feel just fine.  But don’t be surprised if instead of “Trick or treat,” one little ghoul says, “Firefighter to the rescue!”

This article first appeared in the Lewistown News-Argus and the Sidney (Mont.) Herald on October 31, 2009.