I have Superhero powers

[The People]

Yesterday was the last day of Saturday tutoring. It was also the first day that I genuinely smiled since I doubled up on the BP meds Dr. put me on. We halved them a week or so ago. I still think that all of the problems I had, the ones that included my leg pain along with my heart kathumps last summer were some sort of virus.

Anyway, I was late getting to tutoring as I had to stop at the dollar store. I wanted to pick up a little something for my charge. When I started working with him he would read nothing but comics and spoke hardly at all. It didn’t take us long to get into a power struggle that ended in a compromise. He would read a story (well below grade) for the first while and when he was finished he could read from a super hero book. It worked! Only when I was late yesterday the girl (future doctor) in charge couldn’t get him to pick anything besides comics. She told me this when I arrived and I commented offhand “well I guess I’m the one with all the superpowers right (child's name)” He responded with a very serious “yup.” All year he was so serious and since I started working with him I was able to get him to laugh more than once. He will most likely struggle with reading forever but at least he discovered that there were enjoyable things in other books besides comics. And social skills get one as far in life as reading skills. The world is more likely to make room for a person with these strengths. I hope I set him off in that direction.

There is no better gift than to be seen as someone special in the eyes of a child.