Superheroes

Can one person, one woman change the world? I often wonder this at times when I feel as if I am carrying the weight of that entire world on my shoulders. I know we all have stress in our lives and no one's life is perfect, not all stories have a happy ending and not each princess gets her happily ever after. I am not being cynical, just realistic (well, perhaps only slightly cynical).

I often wonder if superheroes are characters created by some Joe Blow with decent artistic skills and an overactive imagination or if they are real, people who live among us, who exist and make our real everyday world a better place. Perhaps the animated heroes we grew up watching and find so exciting are based on people right here, right now. There are people in my life who I consider to be superheroes, people who make the world better, safer, kinder, more wonderful simply by what they do each day. I am not even talking about people who volunteer 50 hours a week feeding the hungry or playing with puppies at a shelter, or people like Mother Teresa, or Gandhi, heroes of peace and love. I mean people who take what life throws at them, who stand up tall and stretch their shoulders out even bigger, and say with a weary smile, "Okay world, I'll take whatever you've got!" This type of strength amazes me. It is simple, it is pure, it might falter, but it never gives up. It is, dare I say it, often a female trait, something women, moms, wives, sisters, friends, do each day. Men, I am not leaving you out entirely, but I think it is time that women are given the credit we deserve for being super each and every day!

Personally, I deal with problems in my own life in one of 3 ways - I cry, I eat, or I focus on everyone else instead. These coping mechanisms are not at all exclusive of one another and I often cry, then eat, then cry because I ate, then focus on other people, eat with them, then cry again, just to round things out. This is normal for me and does not at all mean I am depressed or crazy. I like to think, in fact, that it makes me super. I want to make things better for everyone around me. I want to listen when they are upset, offering advice when it is asked for (okay, occasionally even when it's not), lend a shoulder to lean on, a sounding board to yell at, tissues to cry in. I listen to others because I care and the problem with this is, sometimes I care to much. I hate when I can't fix everything for everyone, when I can't come up with a solution, a way to simply make them feel better about things. I want to be super, a superhero, but perhaps I am disillusioned by Wonder Woman and her perfection, able to save the world while still maintaining perfect hair, in a sexy outfit with great shoes, all in half an hour. No, perhaps real superheroes don't have magic swords, lassos, capes and a posse to back them up. They aren't invisible, ultra physically superior. They can't leap tall buildings in a single bound. What they can do is listen, hold a hand, support, hug, give advice that might be hard to give, tell it like it is, be a friend, and love. Yes, I want to be a superhero when I grow up, this kind of hero. I hope I can be and lord knows I carry what feels like the weight of my world and that of those I love on my shoulders and in my heart all the time. But, a cape wouldn't hurt either....