To clarify, the heroine that I speak of is thankfully my wife (although let's be honest, I am pretty sure if I ever get around to watching Wonder Woman, Gal Godot will probably be a pretty close second.) , and she has had a day that deserves trumpeting. I'm pretty sure that in no particular order, she has changed the lives of five people today -- maybe six if you count her too. When not saving lives or dealing out justice, she hides behind the disguise of a mild-mannered wife and mother (okay, maybe not mild-mannered anymore; she's lived with myself and Elijah too long... just the other morning, we were treated to one of those wonderful "Good morning -- OH MY GOODNESS, WHAY ARE THERE THREE ARMIES WORTH OF LEGOS ON THE TABLE -- oh, hello Aryel" greetings) who relentlessly works to keep us fed, clothed, and sane. Although if one has to go, it's generally the -- where was I again?
Right, explaining the true brilliance of my particular heroine. This morning, as I was rushing off to work, the Keurig stopped working. This wouldn't be such a big deal except I made the inopportune decision to get rid of our regular coffeepot some months ago, and I might not be a heroin (no 'e') addict, but I am a caffeine addict. Same stimulant pop, less deadly side effects. Before the morning was over, she had researched multiple reasons that it could be failing, procured some tiny screwdrivers, and dissected the machine with precision. Once she had the guts of the coffeemaker laid bare, she identified the clog and gave it the Drano treatment ( I jest; I'm pretty sure superheroines wouldn't need Drano -- she just used her laser ray) and saved my life. (If you've ever had the privilege/ terror to ride in my car when I am uncaffeinated, you'll understand how literal that may be).
Moving right along, she next saved Aryel from the clutches of a roving gang of six-year-olds at the park. You'll have to ask her the details, but it involved the surrounding and taunting him while he was up on a playground equipment and may have ended with a provoked justice crusader bellowing at the leader, "I KNOW I DIDN'T JUST SEE YOU GRAB MY CHILD!" while the chagrined miscreant scuttled away to find a rock to hide under (and hopefully, found some manners under the rock as well).
Following that, she (as she and millions upon millions of those who do one of the world's grossest/ most thankless jobs) continued to save our entire household from the stench of diapers by changing the babes that reside -- the indignity of this job sunk in the other day as our oldest knight had an especially challenging afternoon and we were searching for new disciplinary techniques. Rachel had the genius idea of making him change a diaper if his behavior continued. The behavior continued, and he won the right to change Aryel. I have never seen him squirm harder or hold something further away from his body in my entire life. We were laughing so hard that we almost couldn't explain to him the steps to changing diaper. Elijah just kept saying over and over, "This is so disgusting! If I had a baby I just wouldn't do it! Why would you do this?" And it hit me. We might not think about it anymore, but changing diapers is menial, disgusting work. Kingdom work, but disgusting. In fact, work that might require a special kind of superhero(ine). A heroine that deserves, along with all the other women and men taking care of their kids and keeping their household running without being asked and not expecting praise for their efforts, to be heralded for who they are -- heroic. Thanks for being that for our household, Rachel.
