Fear Not Citizen

It's a little known fact that Lukas wasn't born here.  Nope, Mrs. LIAYF and I actually found him inside a steaming hot space capsule in the middle of a corn field. There was a fairly long stretch of scorched earth leading up to the half buried capsule.  Inside, there was only this beautiful bouncing baby boy, along with a note indicating that he was sent here from the planet Cute-ton.* (This also explains why he gets physically weak in the presence of kittens as well as Drew Barrymore pictures)

There were two things that Lukas wanted for Christmas.  A rocket and a superhero cape.  As you might have guessed, Santa's helpers were kind enough to oblige on both counts.  The rocket, which came with two astronauts, three aliens, a moon rover, and a countdown to blast off button the sound of which is now forever etched into the deepest reaches of my memory, received heavy play time early on.  The superhero cape? Not so much.  It sat, pretty much ignored for the past two weeks, in his play area.

But today, with Lukas was back at pre-school after break, Mrs. LIAYF asked him if he wanted to wear it to school.  "Yeah!!" he enthusiastically responded.  And with that she loaded him into the car and off they went.  We she returned, she indicated that some of the other kids were oooohing, and aaaahing already over his red cape with the lightning bolt on back.

Later, when I arrived at the school to pick him up, I had already forgotten about the cape.  But as I entered the play ground, he spotted me and came sprinting across the yard with his hands outstretched and red cape flying behind.  "Daddy, daddy, I'm saving people!" he exclaimed as he turned and ran off towards a large group of preschoolers lined up to go inside

"He's been AWESOME!" the teacher on duty volunteered to me.  "He has been running around all afternoon 'saving' kids from peril. So much fun."

"Daddy, Summer was stuck up on the slide and I helped her down." he then explained to me.  "Way to go son." I responded rubbing his head.  Then, as the kids entered the school and began taking off their coats, the same little girl got her arm stuck in the sleeve.  With a huge grin, Summer then held her arm out to Lukas, who pulled the coat free with just the right amount of gusto.

"That's so cool!" said another mom, who had witnessed the act of gallantry.  Then, looking at his cape, with the lightning bolt emblazoned on back, she asked "Who is he anyway, Shazam?"

"Why no Ma'am" I responded.  "That's Super Lukie"

We all got a good laugh out of that.  And that being said Lukas turned, placed one hand on his hip while extending the other straight into the air, and flew us both to out to the car.

On the way home he regaled me with more tales of helping citizens in peril...and stopping meteors headed for earth.

*This is a complete fabrication for dramatic effect, and in no way diminishes the 80 hours of truly laborious labor which Mrs. LIAYF endured to deliver our son unto the planet Earth three and a half years ago.  I, of course, could never have endured such an ordeal.  I am extremely weak by comparison.  I am also not stupid.