The saga of a Spiderman costume

For Halloween last year, Asher insisted on being Spiderman. We bought the kids' costumes about 2 weeks before, and he wore it every single day leading up to Halloween. And he's worn it every single day since. And I do mean every single day. I don't force the issue of regular clothes when we're just hanging around the house, but making him put on something else to go run errands or go to preschool is like pulling teeth. He does not want to take it off and even asks to bathe in it!

By the time Christmas rolled around, it was a very sad looking costume after being loved and washed so often. We were excited to see that he got a pair of Spiderman pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa Stephens, which we thought would replace the costume. When I brought this to Asher's attention, he cried and cried and pleaded with me not to throw away his costume. I told him of course I wouldn't throw it away if it meant that much to him.

So here we are, 2 months later, and he still lives in his costume. It's literally torn to shreds and is only held together by the seam that goes across his stomach. It's like a puzzle trying to put it on because you have to avoid all the holes. He put it on himself the other day and accidentally ripped it a bit more. He came into my room crying and told me it was really ripped and to throw it away. At this point, there was a rip along the entire left side, along the entire right side, along the entire crotch, around the top of the collar and several holes, some of which had already been patched, under both arm pits.

I took it from his hands and went to throw it away. I just stood there staring at this torn up piece of fabric inside the trash can, and I just couldn't part with it. As in, the thought of actually leaving it in there brought tears to my eyes. It's such a part of my little Asher. So I put it with my keepsakes on the top shelf in my closet.

We went about our week as usual. I started out really enjoying not having to bribe him to get dressed in real clothes any more, but then as the week went on, I missed seeing my little Spiderman running around the house. As I was putting laundry away one afternoon, I saw his costume in my closet and couldn't resist the urge to get it down. I gave it back to him, and he's worn it every day since. I don't even care any more. It's priceless. I will keep it forever, and someday, when he's all grown up, he'll have this precious keepsake of his childhood. If I can manage to part with it by then, that is. Makes me cry just thinking about it. I'm such a Mom.