Heroes...

There is a church at the end of our street, one house away from me.  Over the years, having churchgoers coming and going several mornings and nights a week becomes fairly routine.  For that reason, I rarely spend any time looking at people as they come and go to and from church.  There are times, though, when someone catches my eye… 

I saw Superman yesterday.  He was very short, with short, curly brown hair.  He was wearing a dark blue tee shirt and light blue pants.  And wearing his Superman cape, of course.  His mom parked her SUV in front of my house.  As mom, baby, and Superman walked up to their car after church, I noticed them.

Superman was walking fast, in front of mom and baby, his hands in fists, his eyes searching, and a crouching-leaping motion to his walk.  Nothing was going to hurt mom and baby; not while Superman was on duty!

Superman was only about two and a half, or three years old.  He caught my eye because he was so serious about what he was doing.  “Protecting Life” is important business, you know. 

Kudos to his mom for letting him wear his Superman cape to church.  And kudos to mom for letting him be Superman, too.  Fostering imagination is an important parenting skill, I think. But the Superman thing is more than that, to me.

This world is full of bad people and bad stuff.  We read about it in the news on a daily basis.  Sometimes, that bad stuff happens to us, or our friends or loved ones.  Isn’t it great that this little guy has signed on to defend “good” against “evil”?

Maybe I’m making something out of nothing, but I don’t think so.  Teaching a child the difference between right and wrong is an important thing for us to do as parents and grandparents.  But being Superman goes beyond the lessons taught: my little Superman friend is learning right from wrong and is actively promoting all that is right and good in this world.

Well, maybe that’s a little far-fetched for a two-year-old, but his acting out the Superman role is further embedding those life lessons in his mind.  So, do you think he would stand up for a kid who was being bullied?  Do you think he would help another child who fell off his bicycle?  Will he grow up to be an honest, law-abiding adult? 

I think so….