Okay, so I’m in the middle of changing Super Sock Man from a short story to a novella, and I realized that part of the story hinges upon the idea of being a superhero.
Donnie puts on the socks (still under construction, by the way) and feels like a confident, sexy, superhero, and, well, in the novella, I sort of run with that in a couple of directions. I mean we all know how I feel about superheroes, right?
But as the rhythm of my life changes–from someone with an outside job to someone with a job at home, from someone with kids at home during the summer to someone with kids at school I’ve discovered that some of the simplest things, some of the stuff I didn’t get a chance to do before because I was so damned busy, makes me feel like a hero.
Now housework is not one of my priorities, and will never be one of my priorities, so don’t anyone think I’m going all Martha Stewart on your asses. It’s just that getting a chance to serve my family–in a way I haven’t before, really–is unexpectedly really frickin’ cool. So here’s a list of things, in no particular order, that have made me feel like a superhero lately.
* Making lunch for the kids, and putting it in their own, specially chosen lunch boxes.
* Making a sandwich for my teenaged daughter, even though she’s been capable and expected of doing this for herself for years.
* Helping Squish do her decorate the paper doll like herself homework over four days early.
* Doing Squish’s hair. Today it’s in pigtails.
* Letting my kids walk to their friend’s house after school once a week.
* Helping my friend’s daughter sell cupcakes for her sixth grade trip.
* Helping Chicken read 1984.
* Cleaning off the kitchen table before it collapses from the weight.
* Making plans to fold clothes before the next family vacation.
* Cutting fast food dinners down to one or two a week.
* Easing up on the family’s dependence on McDonalds as a whole.
* Giving my college aged son advice on how to get a job.
* Reassuring the dog that in spite of advanced, advanced, advanced, ADVANCED middle aged, she still hasn’t lost the ability to strike terror into the heart of the poor guy working on the neighbor’s house.
* Designing and knitting a sock for the Super Sock Man story.
* Designing and knitting an, erm, cock sock for my Christmas submission to the Advent Calendar this year.
* Having the car mostly fixed with the exception of needing some matching tires.
* And managing to blog a LOT more in September than I did in August!
So what have you done that makes YOU feel like a superhero lately?
