Have You Ever Been A Hero?

Every Thursday, I get an email from Plinky with some thought prompts. My intentions are good: I plan on using them to journal, blog, or stimulate conversation that focuses on something other than discipline or poop. Unfortunately, like most of my best laid plans, that just doesn't happen.

Today when I got my prompts, I decided to actually open and read the email instead of just hitting the little trash can on my monitor.

There was one prompt that struck me: Have you ever been a hero?


I'm blessed because every day, I'm a "hero" to my kids. I can see it in their eyes. I can tell by their sweet kisses and hugs. I also remember when I was little and my parents were my heroes.


The thing is, I'm a human hero. I'm a mom. I make mistakes. And as much as moms are expected to be super human - to be superheroes - at the end of the day, we are all just human heroes.


Asking myself about being a hero made me consider two things:

1. All moms are human. ALL MOMS ARE HUMAN. We all live in glass houses of some kind (or at least have some pretty high glass windows). It's a slippery slope when we start playing the Superman vs. Spiderman duel out in real life. After all, we're all trying to do the same thing, right? We all want to save the world. We all want to make the world as safe, colorful, and beautiful as we can for our children. We shouldn't try to compete with one another about who has the greatest mompowers. Not only does this undermine the overall good we can do, but it sets a horrible example for our little superheroes-in-training. We need to focus on uplifting the good, not highlighting the bad.


2. I often have to remind myself that while I am my child's hero, I am not a superhero, nor do I need to try and be one. I AM human. I DO make mistakes. For me, this means admitting when I'm wrong. It means apologizing when I've been too quick to yell or too slow to respond. It means humbling myself before my child, and lovingly showing her that I do make mistakes and that mistakes are okay. By allowing myself to make human mistakes, and by recognizing those mistakes, I am teaching my children to be accepting of the fact that each person has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. We all have our kryptonite. What matters is how we handle that kryptonite.

Someone has put a lot of trust in me. I'm the hero for three young, beautiful, highly spirited and highly impressionable little people. I am not really supermom. I'm not really a superhero. But to them, right now, I'm the greatest Hero ever created. It's a responsibility that I take very seriously, and a role that requires a lot of mindfulness. And when I do fall victim to my kryptonite, which happens often, I will accept it, apologize for it, and continue to try and save the world.

Love, hugs, and blessings,
The Mama