It Takes a Cape

While going through the lost and found at work the other day, I came across a child's Superman cape. Rather than think about the poor kid who had lost such a marvel and the pain his constant whining must surely be causing his own parents, I thought instead of a certain little boy at home who would look very cute in a slightly used red cape. So I threw it into the truck and took it home.

Now, we have never as a family watched any Superman movies. Or Batman. Not even Daredevil. To my knowledge, we have never mentioned any superhero of any kind. We have seen The Incredibles, but it has been months ago. The closest we get to superheroes in this house is Superwhy on PBS. But the second I fastened the red velcro around Jack's neck, he was transformed.

"Superhero to the rescue!" cried Jack. "Faster than a train!" As he set about the house running and jumping off of furniture, I sat in awe. How does he know this stuff? Where does he get it? Is it the innate knowledge of little boys everywhere, lying dormant until the moment they strap some flowing fabric around their necks? He couldn't even see it back there, flapping in his wake, but that was no matter to the newly formed SuperJack.

Not to be outdone, of course, Ella quickly retrieved her Tinkerbelle apron and donned it backward (sans apron strings) in her own attempt at superherodom. The two took turns jumping off the furniture and into the lap of their grandmother Nana, who in turn directed them in some sort of Simon Says fashion to perform various tasks. "Superheroes... lie down!" And they would. "Superheroes... run in circles!" And they did. This went on until we pulled out their own personal kryptonite: story-time. They whined and moaned and melted into toddler tears for a matter of seconds until they were engrossed in the tale of Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp. Then came the brushing of teeth, and the going off to bed. And as the noise from their room started to slowly subside, I couldn't help but think... where can I get one of those Superman capes in my size?