Super Powers

One morning as the girls were waking up, Summer was laughing at Brooke and said, "She sleeps with her eyes open!" Knowing that Summer was not making fun of Brooke but amused that she had appeared to have slept with her eyes open, I made an attempt to avoid Brooke's feelings from being hurt.

"Wow! That's her super power! Brooke, I didn't know you could sleep with your eyes open!" Brooke sat straight up, wide-eyed and exclaimed, "And guess what! When my eyes are open I can see!" I nodded, not wanting to break it to her that that was the whole point of having eyes.

This got me thinking about hidden super powers. It has occurred to me that when someone is still young, his or her gifts seem strange. However, if they can put them to good use they are powerful!

I have very few things in life that are glaring talents. I used to be ashamed of this but now I am thankful. "For when I am weak, He is strong". God picks up the slack when I can't- and he's much better at everything. Being weak makes it much easier to stop trying things on my own.

However, I do have some hidden talents that are very helpful when it comes to mothering. If you were to see me on the street or in the grocery store (where I spend a lot of time) you might think I am frumpy and clueless since, if you would actually take the time to watch, I visit the dairy section three or four times in a trip. Little would you know the treasures I possess underneath this facade.

• I can put my lipstick on without looking in a mirror. I developed this talent while driving to my high school and studying for my vocabulary test. I do not do it while driving anymore, but it is useful none the less.

• I can fix almost anything that is useless. Especially toys that really should be thrown away, like the one from McDonald's. Even though some people might think this is a waste of time, my kids find it to be a valuable asset.

• I have selective hearing. I am sure my teachers in school were not amused by this, however, this is almost essential for mothering. I tune out loud chatter but stop and pay attention when the cell phone beeps. I can tune out happy play laughter, but recognize any of my children's cries, what kind of cries, and know which is a call for immediate attention. I know the difference between a pretend play "mommy" and an attention-seeking "mommy".  I also wake up to the slightest noise my children make.

• I can improvise. This is key to my survival. It may be a missing lunch ingredient, a game piece, lyrics I cannot remember, or making up a rhyme on the spot. Maybe as a child I didn't use this honestly, but I did get some practice and now use it for the good.

• I want to know how everything works. I might even break something in order to figure it out! Thankfully, my curiosity has encouraged my children to blossom. You can imagine all kinds of trouble a child can get into with a head full of curious questions but when Mama is the curious one, there is a lot of learning going on.

• And finally (I'm still working on developing this one) I am usually okay with being weird. The attitude makes all the difference.

Now you know my secret.

My kids have them, too.

One of them has the gift of a sweet tooth. I believe she will use it well in the future. A few days ago, we looked at a few pics from the Royal Wedding. One was of some guy being arrested for trying to sneak in. She studied the picture carefully and said, " Maybe he wanted a piece of cake." as serious as can be. Sugar is always on her mind.

Another has the powers of nerdiness. We get so excited about algebra around here- as well as science experiments, Roman numerals, and Suduko. A homeschooling mom's dream.

One has the precious gift of seeing everything from a different angle, adding sweet perspective. Just the other day she asked me, "How do you know if you are going to have a girl or a boy?" I proceded to tell her about the obvious differences between a baby girl and boy. She thought about it for a while. "Mama?" said finally said, "Did you say vagina?"

"Yep."

"Wow. That's a beautiful word." and then she left to go play.

I will wrap up my thoughts by saying the obvious. Some may never know their super powers because they are ashamed to let them shine. What are yours? Let 'em shine!