Super Power

I used to wake up with bruises that I couldn’t explain along with scratches and small cuts. I also used to sleepwalk a little and often my mom would find me getting ready to pee while I was standing in my closet. It wouldn’t have mattered much; my clothes were all hand-me-down anyways. I must have been asleep because if I was awake I would have been terrified of the monsters that lived in there. Maybe monsters will disappear if a young boy pees on them.

I know that my mom and dad didn’t beat me while I was asleep, well, pretty sure. My brother might have, but brotherly fights aren’t generally quiet and mom and dad would probably have broken it up. No, I am convinced that I was a pint sized super hero that would go to sleep as a normal suburban boy and somehow transform into the Scourge or Scarborough. I have since checked back issues of the local papers to see if there were any unexplained bad guys dropped off at police stations. No such luck, I must have been a dark avenger type that would meet out justice in a biblical fashion.

Now, I don’t know if I had super powers or just your basic crime fighter muscles. I know that I wasn’t invulnerable because of the bruising. I am pretty sure I could fly though because I ended up landing on the floor in the middle of the night instead of the bed. I must have been exhausted and just missed my landing after the night of fighting bad guys.

We will never know. I don’t fight crime anymore and haven’t for some time. My wife won’t let me. That is the only explanation I can think of for why I would just stop.

The other day Louise and I were sitting in Tim Horton’s and a young couple came in with two of the cutest little kids you would want to see. They were excited about getting a sprinkle donut or maybe one of those special Christmas donuts. It always makes me smile when I see kid’s faces when they are trying to decide just which donut would taste the best. Both kids had some form of birth defect which caused them difficulty walking. That is just normal life for them and they will grow up and deal with the cards that life dealt them. I gave silent thanks that I have never had to be as strong as those parents and kids.

As I was leaving, I thought that if I could choose a super power to have now, I would pick being able to heal children. There could be nothing in this life that could rival that accomplishment.