Have I written here before about wumpas? As in the name my darling husband's given to all manner of unknown and imaginary beasties that make our boys shriek in delighted terror?
Apparently there are wumpas in any kind of forested, shady, shadowy,
basement-like, dark-room area. Any noise that Thomas hears, mostly at
night, is attributed to a wumpa. There's even a row of tall hedges
edging a neighbor's yard that Thomas and Gabe call the "wumpa bush"
because Steve has told them wumpas surely live in it.
When I say that wumpas make the boys shriek in "delighted" terror, I do mean it. There seems to be little they like better than to discuss whether or not their dad is going to encounter a wumpa when he brings the laundry down to the basement. Thomas even asked to be a wumpa this past Halloween.
Not knowing what a wumpa looks like, I asked Thomas, so I could figure out how to put together a wumpa costume. He told me they have brown fur, big ears, big teeth, and a tail. So I went to WalMart one night after the boys were in bed, on the hunt for wumpa costume materials. I found brown sweatpants and a brown long-sleeved shirt and face paint, but could not find any brown furry material anywhere. Thankfully -- how providential! -- my parents had a small brown furry throw blanket that they said I could have to cut up and do with what I wanted.
I had in mind a cape (Thomas loves how the Beast wears a cape in Beauty and the Beast) and a tail, but the pièce de résistance was a headpiece I was going to make, with ears. I spent the most time on that part of the costume -- I pinned a corner of the blanket to the hood of Thomas' winter coat, cut the blanket using the hood as a pattern, and then sewed it into a real hood-type thing. Then I used aluminum foil to make pointy ear shapes, sewed blanket over them, and then sewed them onto the hood. It looked great if I do say so myself.
But Thomas refused to wear the headpiece for any longer than it took to take a picture. He's never liked things tight around his chin, and I think I made it just a smidge too small. And he was very nervous about the safety pin I'd planned on using to fasten it. No matter -- he loved the cape and the tail and the face paint, and he was the cutest little wumpa I'd ever seen.
But this is not a Halloween column, it's a Father's Day column (a week early). And I bring up wumpas because it's so Steve -- meeting the boys where they are, figuring out what they love, spending countless hours playing with them, imagining with them, having fun with them.
And our boys love every minute of it. "Tomorrow's Saturday," I'll tell Thomas as I tuck him into bed on Friday night, and his face will light up. "Daddy's staying home tomorrow!" he'll say.
One recent morning, Gabe was in a bad mood, crying about anything and everything, and at one point he held his face in his hands and wailed, "Where's my daddy?!" And the other night, I had a fussy John on my hip as I was making dinner, and when Steve arrived home from work and walked in the door, Johnny squealed and reached with both arms outstretched to his dad.
A mom I know asked me not too long ago what about being a mom gave me the most joy. I couldn't think of any one thing that gave me more joy than another, but these stories of my boys loving to be with their dad were the first things that came to mind. Sometimes I tease Steve, pretending to be put out that the boys love his company so much when I'm the one who bore them and birthed them and made wumpa costumes for them, but it really is just teasing -- I wouldn't want it any other way. I think I did pretty good by my kids, after all, choosing such a man to be their dad.
Kate Towne Sherwin is a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) living in Saratoga Springs with her husband, Steve, and sons Thomas (4), Gabriel (2), and John Dominic (11 months). She can be reached at sksherwin@hotmail.com.
When I say that wumpas make the boys shriek in "delighted" terror, I do mean it. There seems to be little they like better than to discuss whether or not their dad is going to encounter a wumpa when he brings the laundry down to the basement. Thomas even asked to be a wumpa this past Halloween.
Not knowing what a wumpa looks like, I asked Thomas, so I could figure out how to put together a wumpa costume. He told me they have brown fur, big ears, big teeth, and a tail. So I went to WalMart one night after the boys were in bed, on the hunt for wumpa costume materials. I found brown sweatpants and a brown long-sleeved shirt and face paint, but could not find any brown furry material anywhere. Thankfully -- how providential! -- my parents had a small brown furry throw blanket that they said I could have to cut up and do with what I wanted.
I had in mind a cape (Thomas loves how the Beast wears a cape in Beauty and the Beast) and a tail, but the pièce de résistance was a headpiece I was going to make, with ears. I spent the most time on that part of the costume -- I pinned a corner of the blanket to the hood of Thomas' winter coat, cut the blanket using the hood as a pattern, and then sewed it into a real hood-type thing. Then I used aluminum foil to make pointy ear shapes, sewed blanket over them, and then sewed them onto the hood. It looked great if I do say so myself.
But Thomas refused to wear the headpiece for any longer than it took to take a picture. He's never liked things tight around his chin, and I think I made it just a smidge too small. And he was very nervous about the safety pin I'd planned on using to fasten it. No matter -- he loved the cape and the tail and the face paint, and he was the cutest little wumpa I'd ever seen.
But this is not a Halloween column, it's a Father's Day column (a week early). And I bring up wumpas because it's so Steve -- meeting the boys where they are, figuring out what they love, spending countless hours playing with them, imagining with them, having fun with them.
And our boys love every minute of it. "Tomorrow's Saturday," I'll tell Thomas as I tuck him into bed on Friday night, and his face will light up. "Daddy's staying home tomorrow!" he'll say.
One recent morning, Gabe was in a bad mood, crying about anything and everything, and at one point he held his face in his hands and wailed, "Where's my daddy?!" And the other night, I had a fussy John on my hip as I was making dinner, and when Steve arrived home from work and walked in the door, Johnny squealed and reached with both arms outstretched to his dad.
A mom I know asked me not too long ago what about being a mom gave me the most joy. I couldn't think of any one thing that gave me more joy than another, but these stories of my boys loving to be with their dad were the first things that came to mind. Sometimes I tease Steve, pretending to be put out that the boys love his company so much when I'm the one who bore them and birthed them and made wumpa costumes for them, but it really is just teasing -- I wouldn't want it any other way. I think I did pretty good by my kids, after all, choosing such a man to be their dad.
Kate Towne Sherwin is a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) living in Saratoga Springs with her husband, Steve, and sons Thomas (4), Gabriel (2), and John Dominic (11 months). She can be reached at sksherwin@hotmail.com.
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