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PATRICIA COLODNER: Family Costume Night

 

Patricia Colodner's world was shaped by her parents' divorce when she was just 2. So when she got married in 1990, she was determined to be the best parent she could be and offer "complete, unconditional devotion" to her family, recalled her husband, Warren.

The Colodners have two children, a 9-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy. Mrs. Colodner, 39, who was a secretary at Marsh & McLennan, was an organized, outgoing person who created a nurturing atmosphere for the children filled with music, laughter, bicycle rides and excursions Ð to parks, museums, zoos, parades. She was particularly fond of Halloween, because she got to dress up with the children, and was partial to vampire get-ups; her daughter preferred the princess look.

This year, the children are still going to go trick-or-treating, but with their dad, who plans to wear a costume, too, so that he can carry on his wife's legacy. Before Sept. 11, the boy planned to dress up as a pumpkin. Now he wants to be a fireman, he says, because he wants to save his mommy.

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From "Profiles in Grief" of The New York Times