We dressed him up as Superman, partly because it was pretty cute, and partly because of the irony - he couldn't fly, he couldn't leap over tall buildings. He couldn't even walk.
Or so we thought.
This Superman got around most days on all fours. However, he was able to take a few steps here and there. Generally, though, our little Caped Crusader was stuck on the ground.
I grabbed this mini Clark-Kent-in-disguise into my arms, and we headed out for his first Trick-or-Treating adventure. His small hand was gripped tightly around a pumpkin-shaped candy carrier. When we left, it was of course empty. And so were our expectations for what would happen during our journey through the neighborhood.
Right off the bat, he decided to show us just how nimble he had become on this Halloween. With no Kryptonite in sight, the little tyke began bouncing off of his two sneakered-feet as if he were laced up on pogo sticks.
He was walking. Not for the first time - but for an extended period of time, for the first time.
Here's my take on children and their first steps. The scene reminds me of Frankenstein's Monster, a flesh-eating zombie, Randy from "A Christmas Story" (remember, the kid who was all bundled up for the snow and couldn't put his arms down?), and a weeble-wobble all put into one person. If you are not focused on the emotional moment at hand, watching a first-time walker can be quite humorous.
Our son had both arms up for balance, he waddled back and forth, he grunted and groaned for added concentration, and he fell flat on his face every now and then. The cape probably didn't help.
The fact that his new-found talent in walking long distances (which for him were about a yard or two) happened on this holiday was pretty special. He insisted on trying to walk up to the first few houses to show our neighbors what he could do. I think we got to the third house (or maybe it was the fourth?), and suddenly, my son realized walking was quite tiring. I carried him the rest of the way.
My son seemed heavier towards the end of our first Trick-or-Treating night together. Maybe because I got tired, too. Maybe because our candy count kept getting higher.
Superman is much older, and still stuck on Earth, but has gotten a lot better at walking. In fact, he does it just about every day.
He still likes candy, too. And he offers up a surprise every now and then, just like he did on his first Halloween night.
Kids are good at doing that.
