Superheroes are pretty ridiculous.
Sorry to offend all you superhero fans out there. But, seriously. Think about what they wear: tights with brightly colored underwear over it, silly masks, and capes that have no purpose but to flutter in the wind. Their superpowers are getting a little far-fetched as well. Banshee’s special power: his scream is really loud (moms, your cue to chuckle and realize some of your children have that same superpower). Green Lantern has a pretty powerful ring but is weakened by anything that happens to be yellow. And Batman and Iron Man really have no superpowers at all besides being super rich and owning fancy suits and weapons.
With all this ridiculousness, the question remains: What is it with boys and superheroes? Why do little guys who have never even seen a superhero show get obsessed with villain-fighting men clad in tights,underwear and boots? Why do Judah and Elias dress up daily, grab their swords/ bow&arrow/ axe/ hammer/ whatever weapon of choice and pretend to fly off couches and fight the bad guys?
I think it’s the fingerprint of God.
God has designed boys to be warriors. Heroes. Protectors. As much as our society’s voices of feminism and gender equality fight against the innate differences between male and female, for me as a mother, the design is quite evident as I raise my boys. I see it daily.
Before getting acquainted with the world of boys (which was very, very foreign to someone like me, who had never climbed a tree in her life and wouldn’t even think of touching a bug), I would picture myself contentedly baking cookies with my children, quietly sitting on the couch reading books for hours, and taking a relaxing stroll in the sunshine. Well, that didn’t happen how I pictured it. But it did happen, just differently. A boy-ified version of it.
So now, when we bake, my KitchenAid dough hook is used as a pirate weapon and measuring flour involves competitions on who can pour it faster into the bowl. And when we read lots and lots of books, I usually have one child climbing on me and the other trying to peer onto the next page to see what pictures come up next. And our strolls in the sunshine are accompanied by digging through the dirt looking for worms and caterpillars.
It took a while, but I think I’m finally learning what it means to embrace being a mom of boys… including aaaaaall the chocolate-covered faces, snotty noses, sticky hands, slobbery kisses, and dirt-covered clothes.
Thank God for little superheroes.