What's your Kryptonite?

Recently, one of the nation's foremost authorities on motherhood suggested the following: In spite of possessing incredible powers and heroic abilities, every Supermom has her weakness, something that sucks energy faster than a Suburban in need of a tune-up. Question is, what's yours?

I pondered this question as I was helping Cameron make an Albert Einstein sock puppet at ten-thirty last night. Why, you might ask, were we working so late into the night? Well, it seems that the magician who performed at the Cub Scout banquet earlier in the evening not only did some amazing card tricks, he made Cameron's memory of homework disappear. It's never good when, as he's passing by his backpack on the way to bed, your child says, "Uh-oh. I forgot about this." If you hear these words, you can be sure your over-taxed brain cells have just been called up for active duty. Kryptonite Source #1: Absent-minded children. On the bright side, because I resisted the urge to donate all my miscellaneous craft items to Deseret Industries on Monday morning, I didn't have to find a store that sold gray faux fur at eleven o'clock on Thursday night. Does hoarding craft supplies, just in case you might need them sometime in the next twenty years, count as a superpower?



I accept the fact that as long as we live in a civilized society which encourages the wearing of clothing, I will have to do laundry. I can live with this. The issue I have is not with the task, but the piece of machinery I must employ to accomplish said task. I know what you're thinking, "How bad can it be? You have a front load washer that is less than eight years old." True, but my washer has developed a nasty habit: it leaves black marks on the clothes. I feel like I'm playing laundry roulette every time I put a batch of clothes in the washer. The odds are against every item of clothing emerging unscathed. I have had the repairman come several times and he assured me that the problem was caused, not by any malfunction of the unit--like, perhaps a grease-leaking bearing--but by using too much detergent. So I use less detergent, and guess what? Black marks still. Let's examine the evidence. Grease tends to be black, and when it gets on things, it leaves--say it with me--black marks. Detergent is white, and when it gets on things...you know the rest. And so, Kryptonite Source #2: My washing machine--and the repairman. On the bright side, I plan to buy a new one with my tax refund. Know any former Jedis in need of a free washer?



It was brought to my attention recently that I am rearing culturally-deprived children. One of my boys announced that he has never seen Mary Poppins. What kind of red-blooded American mother doesn't feel duty-bound to sit down and view this timeless Disney classic at least once each year with her children? Apparently, mothers like me. I guess I kind of took it for granted that all the boys had seen every Disney movie ever made. To be fair, we don't even own a copy of Mary Poppins--singing-and-dancing movies aren't real popular in a house full of men--which partially excuses my lapse in parental facilitation. Kryptonite Source #3: Reality Checks. On the bright side, I intend to rectify the oversight this weekend. Anybody have a DVD I can borrow? On a semi-related note, Kryptonite Source #4: Arbitrary Societal Pressure. What?! You haven't read the Harry Potter or Twilight series? Have you been living in a cave for the past decade? No, I just prefer not to be a crowd-follower, a condition also known as contrariness or non-conformity--it's actually quite harmless when tempered with good judgment. BTW: I don't own an I-Pod, either. :o)