Sunday, October 09, 2005

Woman-Woman Strikes Again

Last week CaptainKatie and I went on our testosterone-free camping trip. When we got home, Katie's friend Ashley (who will grow up to be a tough chick - I really like this kid!) came over to play. They were finishing up a game of cards when I decided it was time to unload the truck. As I headed out the door, I asked them to help me as soon as they put up the cards.

I'd backed the truck in a little too close to the motorcycles, so I threw it in neutral to push it up a few inches so I could safely lower the tailgate. Bob T. Truck is admittedly a bit of a lightweight and you can pretty much push him around with one hand. Katie and Ashley don't know that. They came out the front door just in time to see me push the truck down the drive.

They were impressed.

Not being one to miss an opportunity, I said "You think that's good? Watch this!" I then pulled the truck back up the drive and pushed it down again! They were even more impressed.

"See Katie," I said. "I told you I was a superhero. And you didn't believe me!"

Well, neither Katie nor Ashley are dumb, so at this point they figured I was conning them. They came running down off the porch, determined to move the truck for themselves. I scoffed at their confidence and made a big show out of moving away from the back of the truck so they could give it a try. So intent were they on proving my ruse that neither one noticed me leaning in the cab to throw the truck back into gear.

The huffed and they puffed. And they puffed some more. Didn't move it an inch. Finally, miffed at their failure and unable to conceive how it had happened, they gave up and helped me unload the truck.

Monday morning I took Katie to school. We passed a car pulled up on the curb. Why did somebody park there? she wanted to know. I told her they probably had car trouble. Why would someone drive up over the curb and park to have car trouble? I then explained that I was sure they'd broken down on the road and pushed the car up the side to get it out of the way.

"Ohhh." she said. "That must have been really hard."
I nodded.
"I bet they wished you were there to push it for them! 'Cause you're a superhero!"
"Yeah!" I said. "Who am I?"
"You're Woman-Woman!"

And we laughed all the way to school.

8 comments:

little david said...

OK, Woman-Woman, you realize that was a totally DAD sort of thing to do, don't you? I mean, moms are supposed to tell kids how wonderful and smart and brave they are, and dads are supposed to temper that self-image. (If you need any tips, I got plenty of tricks I played on my boys. But somehow, I suspect you may not need a lot of assistance in that area.)

spookyrach said...

Hey, I'm always open to new suggestions! I try to be an equal opportunity tormentor.

Princess of Everything (and then some) said...

I laughed when you told me this and I laughed again when I read this. Too funny! It is so nice that she also has someone that she looks up to in such a good way.

Anonymous said...

GREAT :)

jonboy said...

M -- you think that story is a "dad" thing to do? When I went over to Rach's house on Saturday, she was out repairing the skirting around the house while Jackson was inside cooking lunch. They are really confused.

spookyrach said...

I'm not confused! You may be, but we're not. ha ha!

(This coming from the guy who warmed the couch cushions watching football while I did house repairs and Jackson cooked his dinner. So sad...)

Headless-in-GR said...

Wow! I'm impressed! What kind of costume do you have?

spookyrach said...

Well, Wonder Woman's "swimsuit of armor" type thing definitely won't work for me. I'm looking for something in a heavy duty latex body suit and a big, long, drapey cape.