Every mom has a superpower, without which things would fall apart in the household.
My superpower: knowing where all the random stuff is hiding.
Related to this is my ability to know what things will fit in what spaces, which is handy when packing the car for a dorm move-in (or -out), vacation, or school event involving a lot of stuff.
It all comes down to a very visual orientation. I definitely get that from my dad. If you ask my dad for directions, he will immediately grab a pen and paper and say, “Let me draw you a map.” After he sketches it out, he can give you the step-by-step. (Dad’s really good at packing too.)
My superpower comes in handy when I’m in the grocery store and have forgotten my list — I can usually visualize what’s on it. This only works if I’ve written the list on paper, proving that eye-hand coordination is necessary for more than just knowing how to juggle. My ability is also helpful when I send a kid to the pantry (in our basement) to retrieve an ingredient. “The mustard is on the shelf just below the sugar and flour. It might be hiding behind the ketchup or salad dressing.”
And it even works when I’m out of the house. People text me all the time when I’m not home, asking where something is.
Yesterday I had gone to the mall and was derailed from my shopping mission by a rack of jeans that were on sale. (50% off! I wasn’t leaving that store without jeans.) I made 3 trips into the dressing room because I didn’t plan ahead while trying on … and the whole time, I was getting texts from my husband. He was installing the weather station we’d gotten him for Father’s Day.
“Eyeglass repair kit? Do you know where it is? The wx station has a tiny phillips head.”
(You can tell he’s a real meteorologist because he uses “wx” to abbreviate the word “weather.”)
“Check top center drawer of my desk. If not there then NO I have no idea. I also have a very small Phillips I think in the pencil holder on top of my desk. The gray mesh one.”
“Found em both. Trying. … Neither works 🙁 ”
“Because … ”
“The eyeglass repair kit is a flathead and the screwdriver is too big.”
He sent a picture. He’d found a full-size screwdriver and stopped there.
“In that same desk drawer about halfway back there should be some old stylus from your PDA. The kind with mini screwdriver inside the top.”
“I found an old ipod … ”
(Seriously?!)
“OR!!!! Go in my church tote and get the striped zipper bag out. Inside should be a set of tools.”
And there was. I keep those in there, even though the guitar that required the use of an actual screwdriver when a string broke hasn’t been in my possession since 1994.
When I got home, I zeroed in on that junk drawer and found that old stylus, right where I’d said it would be. The screwdriver inside was the right size, too — though he’d already accomplished the task using the one he found in my church tote.
If I clean out that drawer, I’ll be in trouble, though I did toss the expired pack of Rolaids (I think the asthma inhaler is out-of-date as well, and we won’t even talk about the age of that peanut chew.)
I’m just hoping that Hubs forgets he saw where I hide the Robo-Grip.
What’s your superpower?
Copyright 2018 Barb Szyszkiewicz
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