I am Supermom!

My kids often ask me, "Mom, if you could have any super power what would it be?" They always give me certain boundaries, however, such as: I can't have the 'power to have all powers, and I can't have something boring like "the power to take a nap whenever I want" (which is one I'd really like!). I usually rack my brain and almost always tell them I'd like to be able to fly.

Lately though, I've been thinking to myself that I'd really like to have the power of Disney's Elastigirl from The Incredibles. Here are some of the ways it would come in handy for me:

• When I finally find a sweater that I like at the mall and realize all the sizes that are bigger than extra-small are hung dang near the ceiling, I wouldn't have to wander around to find someone who could come and use the special hanger-grabbing, ten-foot pole thingy.
• When I'm at Mass during the school day with eleven Kindergarten and First Graders I could do things like; pass the children two pews up from me a tissue, get them to the right page in their prayer books, wake them up, tell them it's time to kneel, warn them to get their fingers out of there noses...all without leaving my pew!
• When my kids get into a bickering match while I'm driving in heavy traffic I could stretch one arm all the way to the back of the van and slap each one along side the head before they even knew what hit them.  They'd be so shocked that they'd bond in a shared moment of creepiness and the bickering would come to an end....forever!

Those are just a few ways Elastigirl's power would help me. Yes, that is the power I want. It's just so much more practical than flying...at least during this stage of my life.

In all seriousness, I have a friend who frequently calls me Supermom (Leah H!!). I usually brush off her flattery because, most days, I feel anything but super. One thing she said to me, at least five years back, however, has stuck with me to this day. After calling me 'Supermom' and me scoffing at the title, she said, 

"No, really. You know why you are Supermom? Because you get FIVE little kids to bed every night and FIVE little kids out of the house in the morning! That's quite the feat."

She said it with such genuine sincerity that the thought has never left me. Yes, they are older now and, in some ways, things have gotten easier, but she was right, I AM Supermom, dagnammit!  Every mom knows that simply getting out of the house is an enormous task.  Now, Leah is about to have her third child and she, too, is a Supermom, as are all moms that take on the task of raising adults. That's right, adults. We are not raising these little humans to be children, but respectful, caring, responsible adults...and that is super.

I might fly one day. Across the seas to far off lands....

But for now, I will find my power in....naps.

"Dinner can wait, just give me ten minutes....please?"