You Could Be a Cape Person!

Every time I see Soren and Kieran in their super hero capes, I think of a particular afternoon from my childhood.  I was about seven or eight and my mom and I were going through my clothes before school started in the fall.  Every year, we would take everything out of the closet and drawers, try them on and decide which things fit, which things could be passed down to my sister, and which ones to donate.  We came to one of those special pieces that are difficult for moms to part with.  It was a wraparound skirt.  Remember those?  My Granny made it and it was reversible.  It was  the 80's, okay?  I think it even had my initials on the pocket and it had a tag that said it was made by Ruth Ruwe.  

Ruth (my Granny) was an amazing seamstress.  She used to make all my mom's and aunts' clothing, even coats.  Needless to say, this skirt was really cute and very well made.  Add that to the fact that it was made by my mother's mother and it just didn't matter that it no longer fit.  Mom wanted me to keep it forever.  She wanted me to use it somehow.  I could see that she was sad and a bit desperate, but I wanted no part of that skirt.  It was for little kids.  I was not a little kid.  It wasn't 'cool', either.  I wanted to be cool.  I didn't get the historical and familiar importance of the item at that point.

My mother was not to be dissuaded.  She kept trying to talk me into it.  Finally, with great flourish and panache, she flipped the skirt over her shoulders and tied the waste around her neck saying, 'You could be a Cape Person!!!'  

We collapsed in a heap of hysterical laughing on my bed.  I don't know why we thought it was so funny, but it was.  Perhaps we found humor in her choice of words because she didn't think to say 'Wonder Woman' or even 'Super Hero'.  I guess those phrases eluded her and all she could think of to try to get me to keep the precious skirt was 'cape person'.  Regardless, it was funny.  This was the kind of laughing that makes your stomach hurt and brings tears to your eyes.  We could hardly breathe or talk and every time we thought we had it together, one of us would say 'Cape Person' and it would start all over again.  Even as I type this, I can hardly see the words because of the tears in my eyes.  It was just that funny.  

That day was about thirty years ago, but I can still see the moment so clearly.  I can see my beautiful mom with her blonde hair in a French twist and I can see my own reflection in the mirror above my dresser.  We were both gorgeous and happy.  It was pure joy.  These are the kinds of moments I hope I'm creating for my sons.  They have real capes, but since they are 'generic' super hero capes, I still use the phrase 'cape person'.  It still makes me laugh.

This post is dedicated to my mom, Leslie Hannan.  She will always be a Cape Person.