The New Superhero

After we give birth, and create an entire life from deep inside us, I have to wonder: if nothing else, aren't we as mothers the new superhero? We may not wear capes or fly from atop skyscrapers, but we do have a special power unlike any other.

For a period of time, our bodies are not our own. Our hormones surge, we crave pickles and chocolate and sardines. Our stomachs grow, our feet swell and we wonder how much longer it will take for our baby to arrive.

The day comes with a long labor of pushing, sweating and swearing, and we meet our child that we created and begin to cry. We feel him in our arms, and say hello.

We love him more than we previously thought was humanly possible.

We come full circle as women. We wake up several times a night and at three in the morning can still smile at our baby's smile, we worry that he'll be taken care 'the right way' in our absence, and we pinch his cheeks when we swore we'd never be that kind of mother. We can't help ourselves. We do it all for the purpose of another life, and still find time to be wives, girlfriends, and professional chefs, writers, executives, journalists, PR reps. We work harder and with less sleep, and wondered why we ever needed sleep before.

Then we remember. Superheros don't need sleep.