Real superheroes

“I hung up my phone and sucked in a breath.

Did Aunt Caroline just say she was playing superheroes? She’d been watching my children and my sister’s kids for a few hours after school let out, but with her being nearly 80 years old, I figured she’d be reading stories or baking cookies with them for entertainment. Now I imagined them climbing all over her, wearing towels for capes, knocking her down and making her out of breath. I decided to leave work early and pick them up before things got really out of control.

“When I arrived, Aunt Caroline led me to the living room where the kids sat in a circle, staring at yellowed newspaper clippings she’d kept in a box labeled ‘superheroes.’ The clippings showed people in the community who had done something special, like a fireman who saved a family.

“The children cheered when they saw Aunt Caroline, asking her to read more to them. I took a seat and was overwhelmed with the beauty in the moment. When she stopped and asked the children if they knew of any heroes, I couldn’t help but blurt my answer first. ‘I do!’ I exclaimed. ‘You’re my superhero!’” —Charlotte Nolan, 54, Leesville, LA