I thought maybe you don’t understand what I mean that I can fix anything, and maybe I should tell you more about that. A lot of times when I tell grown-ups that I have a super power they think that I am playing around. That’s why I want to get all of this stuff into writing, so that later in life when people laugh I can show them I have always been like this and didn’t just make it up. But since I’m a kid people always think I’m making things up.
The first time I ever fixed anything was because of my friend Anna. Anna was friends with another friend of mine and her name was Becky. I liked Anna and Becky equal. My best friend at that time was Liz, and she is still my best friend. One day at recess I saw Anna sitting on a bench and her face was red, really red. It looked weird so I thought I should check on her, and when I got close I saw that she was crying but was trying not to let people see she was crying. I sat down next to her and asked her what was wrong and why was she crying, and then she started to cry really hard. I felt bad and it was gross too because a big glob of snot bubbled out of her nose and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. I didn’t have any kleenex to give her like my mom always has. I think maybe moms just know to always have kleenex.
Anna said, “I don’t think Becky likes me anymore!” and then she started to cry again. More snot came out of her nose and I really wanted to give her a kleenex or maybe just a leaf because it was hard to look at her face like that without laughing because normally she was always really pretty. Laughing when someone is crying is not a good way to fix things.
I said, “What? You and Becky have always been friends. She likes you. Why do you think she doesn’t?”
“When we lined up for recess with our recess buddies she didn’t choose me, she chose Stacey. We are always recess buddies. Why didn’t she choose me this time?” She wiped her face with the back of her hand again.
“Well,” I said, “Sometimes we think someone is mad at us but maybe they are just feeling weird that day. Have you asked Becky if she is mad at you?”
“No,” Anna said. “She is ignoring me so I will ignore her.”
“OK,” I said. “But maybe she isn’t ignoring you, and now maybe she thinks you’re mad at her because you aren’t talking to her. Why don’t we go talk to Becky and I’ll come with you.”
So, Anna and I walked over to where Becky was sitting with Stacey. They were talking to each other and were paying close attention to each other. They didn’t notice that we were standing there for a little bit and Anna started to walk away, but I grabbed her arm to make her stay. That’s my super power. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to fix things if she did that, but I don’t know how I knew that. I decided to be rude even though my mom and dad have told me that when two people are talking you shouldn’t bug them.
“Hi guys,” I said. “Anna and I were going to work on the dance moves we practiced last week (we were all in the same dance class) but we wanted to know if you wanted to do it with us.”
Becky and Stacey looked at each other. Becky looked at me and she looked happy, but then she looked at Stacey and Stacey looked like she was sad, but she didn’t want us to know she was sad. Becky said she wanted to talk to me for just a minute. Anna started to walk away again and I said, “Anna, why don’t you keep Stacey company for a minute?”
Becky walked aways away from where we had been and then stopped. She said, “Stacey is feeling really sad because her mommy just found out she has cancer and she knows my mom had cancer so she is talking to me to see what it’s like. She doesn’t want a lot of people to know but she is talking to me a lot. I feel like I need to be around for her to talk to.”
“Oh, I said.” Well, can you talk to Anna and tell her that? She was crying because she thought you didn’t like her anymore.”
“What?” Becky seemed mad almost and I almost started to say it wasn’t my fault. Then she said, “Why would she even say that?”
I told her how she and Anna were always recess buddies but today Becky had chosen Stacey. That seemed to make sense to Becky. She went over and talked to Anna, and it looked to me like Anna had been listening to Stacey too. We all decided to practice our dance moves together, and we even made sure Stacey did it because we thought it would help her take her mind off being sad. The next day Anna was Stacey’s recess buddy and Becky chose me, and we had a lot of fun. And that’s how I fixed things for Becky and Anna.
A few days ago also I helped a grown-up fix something. My mom was making biscuits because her friends were coming over for dinner. She was in the kitchen for a long time and then I heard a lot of slamming and swear words. I didn’t know why because I smelled something amazing. I went down into the kitchen and asked Mom what was wrong. She said, “I have been working on these biscuits and they just aren’t rising. I don’t understand what the problem is.” Well, she didn’t say it quite like that. There were words I’m not allowed to say.
My super power fed me the idea that yeast makes bread rise. I don’t even know what yeast is or how it works but I asked my mom if she had put the yeast in. She checked her ingredients and then opened the cabinet door and took down two little packets. “I think I forgot the yeast!” She said. I couldn’t tell if she was mad or happy so I decided to leave. She didn’t seem to notice that I had said anything and that happens to me sometimes. Sometimes I say something to fix things and people act like they thought of it themselves. But that’s ok. I know that super heroes aren’t supposed to blow their own horns. I know that I gave my mom that idea and her biscuits ended up really good.
These are just two things that have happened lately that show you how my super power works. Do you believe me?