Sleeping with a Superhero

I used to sleep with Spider-Man, and oh boy did I love it.

This is not the kind of post you people think it is.

Back in January of '04 after I lost my job (which may have led to my F falling out of love with me [I obsess I know]) F went back to work and I had the wonderful task of taking care of Frankie.

Luckily I was still receiving money from the Uruguayan equivalent of Employment Insurance, which in Uruguay is called Seguro de Paro, so we weren't starving.

My daily routine was fairly simple.

I'd wake up at about 8am, Frankie would wake up pretty much at the same time. His initial breakfast consisted of a warm bottle of milk, while mine was Uruguayan Tea called Maté.

I'd give him a quick bath, put him in fresh clothes, and then we'd sit down in front of the TV to watch his cartoons for about half an hour. I'd give him a mid-morning snack of fruit while he was watching TV, and I would usually give the apartment a quick once-over.

After TV time I would get him dressed (light clothes since this was summer) and we'd go for a qalk. Sometimes he would ride in his stroller, other times he would walk with me. Almost always about halfway through the walk, he would fall asleep in the stroller and we'd head back home. I'd lay him down in his bed and then I'd go about preparing his lunch and my lunch.

Then came fun time. When he would wake up we'd start playing. I would absolutely drop everything just to play with him. We'd play mock soccer, we'd play monster chases Frankie, Frankie visits the zoo (with me being the zoo), Slip and Slide (on the recently sweeped clean floor), then we'd sit down and draw with crayons, or read a comic book (I gave him my whole collection, and he learned farly quickly that it was bad to rip them up), and of course Superheroes unite (He would dress-up in a Spider-Man uniform and I would wear a red towel saying I was Superman).

By this time he was all tuckered out and hungry, so we'd have lunch.

We'd finish our lunch, both of us still wearing our costumes, and then inevitably he would start yawning.

At this point I'd take him to my bed for his nap I'd lie down with him and I'd start singing to him (a song my dad used to sing to me when I was a kid, which still puts me to sleep) eventually he'd fall asleep. I'd just stare at him sleeping there in his Spider-Man uniform. He was so beautiful.

I couldn't believe how lucky I was to be the father of such a beautiful boy. I would just keep caressing his face while he lay there, making sure he was comfortable.

I can honestly remember no better feeling than that one, the feeling of my wonderful boy sleeping next to me in his Spider-Man uniform, sometimes snoring, with his beautiful hair falling over his eyes.

I hope to be able to repeat this experience when I get home.