Gleek, having declared the costume she wore to the church carnival as “boring,” was in dire need of a dress appropriate to the goddess Artemis. I took her to the thrift store, expecting a repeat of what I experienced several years ago when Gleek suffered choice paralysis. Choosing one costume meant giving up all the others and that was very hard. This year she barely glanced at anything that didn’t meet her ideas of Artemis clothing. Most of my suggestions were wrong. We argued over a little faux fur dress “foxy lady“costume, not because it couldn’t be altered to be age appropriate, but because it cost $40. I could see why it appealed to her as a huntress dress, but $40 was a bit steep. In the end we found a goldish flowy dress (for $6) which makes Gleek feel like Artemis. We also brought home some high heeled wedge shoes trimmed with fur, because any huntress who chases after deer through a forest needs to do so while clomping and tottering on four inch heels. Obviously. The shoes came home with us on the understanding that they are only for play, not for church, school, or pretty much anywhere else, until she has gotten a bit older. I suspect they’ll lose their appeal before she’s old enough. Which is fine. Right now she’s toying with being more grown up, as many eleven year olds do. I can hear her clomping around upstairs feeling very grown up and ready to take on the world. And thus our costuming is complete. I hope.