This is a two-part post because there is a video I want to post, but I can't do so right now.  Anyway, the release of the Man of Steel this June has got me thinking about Superman.  Isaac loves pretending to be Superman and he is obsessed with the idea of a good guy that is invincible (or inbincible).  I have always had a fondness for the Caped Crusader, so this is okay by me.  The back story of Superman is pretty interesting and always fertile ground for analysis, pulling in the high brow thinkers like Umberto Eco.  For the first time though, the Superman story means more to me.

In the story, Jonathan and Martha Kent raise the alien baby from Krypton, Kal-El (Superman's Kryptonian name), as their own son calling him Clark.  They impart in him the strong moral values of a Midwestern upbringing and because of this he uses his powers for good.  Superman's true father, Jor-El, died when Krypton was destroyed, but his last act was to save his son, sending him to Earth. 

As a Dad, I feel like Jonathan, the Earthling that found baby Superman's crashed ship.  I know on a rational level that Isaac is mine, but he is so extraordinary that I really do feel like he is a gift.  I also understand Jonathan's apprehension in sending his son out into the world.  Will they understand just how great he is?  Will the world react negatively to him?  Did I do a good job raising him?  Did I teach him the right lessons?  How can I help him live up to his abilities, super as they are? 

Jonathan's fears for his son are the fears I think all fathers share about their kids.  There is this sense that we are shepherds, cultivating their latent abilities, in hopefully good ways, but you never know.  All fathers also see their kids as, in some way, super or at least superior.  It is the flow of evolution, the offspring are superior to their parents.  Even at almost 3 I see things in Isaac that stun and amaze me.  He can remember things that I cannot.  He can say dinosaur names that I struggle with.  He is so full of energy and has such a brilliantly vibrant imagination.  I know I am his Dad, but I really do think Isaac is super.

My hope, like Jonathan's, is that I give him the right lessons and tools to really bring out the best in his abilities.  Superman is a great story, a great myth, that works on so many levels, but it has taken on an extra bit of significance since I became a Dad.  I marvel in my little boys abilities just as much as that Kansas farmer did in his son's. 

Tonight Isaac and I had a conversation in the bath tub, as we do every night.  But tonight we talked about being a lawyer.  It was really insightful and funny. 

Isaac: Mommy's a teacher.
Me: Yep, she is a teacher.
Isaac: You a teacher?
Me: No, I am a lawyer.
Isaac: I a lawyer too.
Me: Really?
Isaac: Yes.  I a lawyer.  I a little lawyer, you a big lawyer.
Me: Oh. What does a lawyer do?
Isaac: A lawyer talks to people.
Me: Yes, a lawyer does talk to people.  What else does a lawyer do?
Isaac: A lawyer saves people.  They talk about boo boos.  They tell people: "You no have boo boo.  It will be okay.  Boo boo not so bad.  Not a big boo boo."
Me: Okay.  That makes sense.  Does it take a lot of schooling to be a lawyer?
Isaac: Go to school early.  Early days.
Me: How many early days?
Isaac: 1, 2, 3...5.  Five early days.
Me: Oh.  Anything else?
Isaac: No.  5 early days that is it.
Me: Do lawyers make a lot of money?
Isaac: Hmmmmm....I don't know.  They spend too many dollars.
Me: On what?
Isaac: Beep beeps.

Isaac is incredibly insightful.  First, he knows that there is some schooling, but not a lot extra, which is true.  He knows that lawyers talk to people, which is really all they do.  He knows that they talk about injuries and sometimes tell people they don't have injuries.  I think insurance company lawyers do this all day every day.  He also knows that they spend WAY TOO MUCH MONEY and that they spend it on things like cars.  That is almost 100% accurate.  

Bianca is planning on doing a chemistry demo for Isaac's school this week.  In prepping for the demo we did a test run of each experiment.  The first was a fluorescein in water demo.  The other was an awesome slime demo using Elmer's Glue and Borax.

First up the fluorescein demo.

Isaac was not awake for this demo, as it required complete darkness for the blacklight to work.  I do think the kids will love this one as there was a lot of whirling and swirling going on.

The second demo, the slime demo, was something we could do during the day.  Isaac was awake and totally enthralled.  I was too.  As you mix in the borax to the water glue mixture, the slime sort of congeals in your hand.  It is stringy and goopey and Isaac loved it.  Here we are making and playing with the slime:

We even did a like fake puking. 

What a great way to have some fun with a little guy and another reason why smart chicks rock.