My Superpower

I have one superpower; I can always find the right lid for a Tupperware container. We all try different methods to avoid that, like, “I’m going to buy all the same brand, and it’ll be easy!” Then you receive a bunch of cookies or soup from someone and you have a new lid to deal with. It’s unavoidable, if you use Tupperware at all.

It got worse when I rented out my apartment last year. I have the mystery containers that just arrived in my cupboards, like the half bottle of gin and the rather yummy apple-cinnamon herbal tea (and the disappearing cheese grater, it wasn’t all good.)

My superpower does not go so far as knowing which size container to use for a certain volume. Like everyone else, I pour the soup into a Tupperware to save it and it goes just over the top, or I have two spoonfuls of casserole wandering miserably at the bottom of an oversized container.

I almost think I could have another superpower, if I worked on it. Some of the time I can be pretty good at discerning the moods of other people. This is pretty hit or miss, but asking people is not exactly the best way of confirming my hypothesis so I can never really know. Like, I can see if someone is just not present, but if you ask them, they might feel guilty and say, “No, I was listening to the conversation” or whatever. But I could see the conversation moving around the table the person just staring off into space. That’s a pretty obvious example, but sometimes I can be good at more subtle things. And sometimes I miss the signs.

Foro is also one of my superpowers. Because, man, I’m 55 and I have a stuffed sheep who follows me around everywhere. Him being around means that I can still be silly, and don’t always take myself too seriously, and that I look consciously for things to make me happy.