At my six year old’s birthday party, each child was issued a superhero badge with a super power on it (Super Strong, Super Fast, or Can Fly). The kids had a great time, playing games and pretending to be superheroes. Towards the end of the party, however, as we were watching Sky High, a little girl sitting next to me tapped me on the shoulder.

“Mr. Pat,” she said quietly. “When can I fly? I tried and I could do it yet. When am I going to be able to fly?”

She pointed to her “Can Fly” badge.

Oof. I bent down close. “I’m sorry. It was all just pretend.”

She closed her mouth and looked down.

“But did you have a good time? Was it fun pretending to be a superhero? Did you like the games and the silly string and pinata?”

She smiled, said ”yeah,” and turned back to watching the show.

I have a feeling, however, that that smile was more for me than for her.

If you’re interested in reading about the party, click here.