The Superhero in YOU

"Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do." -Steve Jobs

3 a.m. And my son was wide awake. Dreaming of superheroes again. Since I sleep with earplugs, I didn't know anything was astir until my husband stumbled into the room and plopped our WIDE EYED 3 year old on our bed. It wasn't long into the shared bed experience that we knew that our little man wouldn't be settling into a deep sleep as we had desperately hoped.  He was trying. But it just wasn't happening.  He'd be quiet and still for a few minutes, just long enough for us to drift back to sleep, and then his legs would shoot out in little kicks or his body wiggled under the covers. In and out of sleep for us. Him, tossing and turning.... just SO. Full. Of. ENERGY.

After about 30 minutes of trying to fake sleep, I lost hope that this would go smoothly.  I knew that my  husband had gone to bed way later than me and that he was exhausted so I cut my possum act, pulled the earplugs out, and put my mommy hat on.  Rolling over, I looked into my bundle of three's eyes and told him I loved him and that it was time to sleep.  I kissed his cheeks and he puckered up his lips to return the gesture.

Then we exchanged some words that went something like this:
"Mommy, when I grow up, can I be a superhero like Batman?"
I smiled and said, "Forget Batman, you can grow up to be Superhero YOU!" Then I rolled over  and whispered "Goodnight Superhero Sam."   
I could feel his smile on my back as he returned my goodnight with a "Goodnight Superhero Mommy!"

My son really does believe in superheroes.  Why wouldn't he?  He's three.  He believes in an entire world of imaginary possibilities.  On any given day, I often don't know whether to call him by his name or any of the common superhero names like Batman, Superman, or Spiderman. He gets lost in a world of his own.  Dashing down the hall.  Sputtering out sounds meant to show that he is rescuing someone.  Or tearing down a chair in my dining room even at the risk of royally pissing me off.  All in the name of SAVING THE DAY!

May We Always Believe
Seeing my son so lost in thought last night, or early this morning, was actually a very special moment for me. One I want to remember forever. I could see, hear and feel his "Child-like Wonder" in that window of time that we shared.

My prayer to myself as I drifted back to sleep with his tiny hands on my back was that he would hold on to this child-like wonder and sense of superhero possibilities for as long as possible.  Even forever.  

Waking up this morning brought with it my usual routine of making a beeline for the coffee pot and plopping myself down on the couch to wake up with my thoughts.  From then until now, I've been thinking about this Superhero Topic. This subject of child-like wonder.  This thought of having a deep belief in ourselves...in our capabilities...in our Inner SUPERHERO!

When do we lose this?  At what age age do we lose our child-like wonder?  Our sense of believing in the impossible?  At what moment do we lose our sense of Superhero possibility?  Some never do.  Perhaps these are the people that really are our LIFE SUPERHEROES. Not just for others but for themselves and what they do for themselves so they can give back to the world.  Some never give up their sense of child-like wonder and hope.  They hold on to something SO PRECIOUS and POWERFUL.  Their ability to hold on to their superhero mindset is what makes them great.  It's what keeps them climbing and reaching for the dreams that seem impossible to some.  It is these people that push on and discover things in life that others can only imagine.  They are the people that are often laughed at or told   that they "dream too big" or are "kidding themselves".  These dreamers, child-like believers, and Self-Superheroes shut the negative voices out and they almost always prove that they really can make the "impossible" possible.  They make us all believe a little deeper. They are the people that end up changing the world for the better.  And really, when it comes down to it:

They ARE superheroes.  

Merriam-Webster defines superhero as:

a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers; also; an exceptionally skillful or successful person.

 They are their OWN SUPERHERO!  They never let that go. But now their fictional is REAL and it carries over to their skill and success.  That sense of "saving the day" and making BIG THINGS happen is still there.

I'd like to believe that I've held on to a great deal of my child-like wonder.  And in light of this conversation with my son, from here on out, I choose to see the Superhero that I can be to myself....to my world...even if what I believe in or strive for might seem crazy to some.

Can you think of someone that inspires you with their sense of superhero possibilities when it comes to making big things happen (for themselves and others)? 
Or who are some REAL LIFE superheroes of history that have changed the world as it once was?  

Amanda