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Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…”

Oh wait, wrong song. 

“This is Halloween. This is Halloween. Fa La La!”

For the record I am not a fan of Halloween being on a Monday. I enjoy wearing costumes and getting dressed up on the days that proceed Oct. 31. Having it fall on the first day of the week, doesn’t leave me with many participation days. I’m sure I could have dressed up Thursday or Friday, but it felt off. I did wear seasonal leggings and earrings — but that’s dress up for beginners and I am no amateur. 

As a recovering cosmetologist I quite like special effects makeup. It is painstaking work to get a scar or a wound to look real. My girlfriend was messaging me earlier this week saying that she was struggling with the fake blood looking too pink. I can appreciate the effort, skill and craftsmanship of these costumes, even if they aren’t for me. I’m not here for the scariness or gore. That’s not what Halloween is about for me. 

I’m pretty sure I mention it every year, but my folks were married on Halloween. As I got older, they celebrated their anniversary, and my brother and I were left in charge of passing out the candy. It became a fun tradition to dress up, invite a few friends over and just have a nice time. It’s fun to play dress up, I don’t care how old I get, I will always enjoy it. 

I saw Martina McBride in concert a few weeks ago and she had on the cutest outfit. This fun shift dress and the most amazing boots. I’ve been to lots of concerts where I was in awe of what the entertainer got to wear. I used to think, I can’t wait until I’m up on stage, then I can wear ____ (insert spectacularly gorgeous clothing item). Well guess what kids? I’m not going to be a professional country singer anytime soon, so I might as well stop waiting on that small detail and start living my life. 

Last weekend I went shopping and I saw this pair of boots. The amount of rhinestones on these bad boys made my heart skip a beat. I don’t usually buy anything with a 3-inch heel, but I had to at least try them on. Seeing them on my feet, I felt like Dorothy admiring her ruby slippers. I had absolutely nothing to wear with them, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I had to have them. 

I found some pants that worked well with my new shoes, and I was able to take them out for a spin this week. It may sound odd that a clothing item has such an impact on my mood, but it does! I’m so glad I went for it and bought the dang shoes. I’m glad I’ve realized that I don’t have to be a famous singer in order to wear clothes that make me happy. And now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t have to wait till Halloween to dress up and have fun. I’m an adult, I can literally buy a cake for no reason and eat it for dinner if I want. So why not use that power and have some fun?

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams. Her column appears every Saturday.