I’m pretty sure I came straight from the womb as a Tree-Hugging, Bleeding-Heart Liberal.

You doubt me?

Each September, my mother asked my siblings and me what Halloween costume we wanted her to make for us. As a 7 or 8 year old, I requested a princess costume. But not just ANY princess costume, mind you. Princesses are frilly things who wait to be rescued by princes. I’d definitely grown out of insisting that everyone at church refer to me as “Cinderella.”

No, this year would be different. I would trick or treat as the Be Kind to Animals Princess.

[Incidentally, I believe this was the same year I wrote a heated letter to the editor of the local paper bemoaning the over-industrialization of my neighborhood because I felt it was encroaching on the deer’s natural habitat, and because Mom told me I was too young to personally plead the case at the Zoning Commission meeting. But that’s neither here nor there.]

I give my poor mother props for attempting this costume. She created a dress out of our mauve (or was it plum?) colored futon sheets, though it looked a little like a wizard’s garb. The sleeves and bottom were trimmed with silver zigzag piping and she used puffy paint to attempt various animals along the bottom of the skirt.

Just in case that wasn’t enough to get my theme across, I decided that instead of the usual “Trick-or-treat!” I’d say “TrickOrTreatI’mTheBeKindToAnimalsPrincessSoBeKindToAnimals! Thanks!”

That lasted all of 3 or 4 houses and as many confused looks before I chickened (excuse the pun) out.

I wish I had some video of this to show Menininho someday when he complains about being “different,” as most children inevitably do, so that I can prove that I used to be different too, but still turned out OK.

I mean, I did turn out ok…right?

* This post in honor of MamaKat’s blogging carnival, in which I am responding to prompt #5.