I’ve Got My “Thuperman Thuit On Under.” How About You?

Like many of us, this is typically the time of year when I get to reconnect with far-flung relatives during large, loud family gatherings. Since that’s impossible right now, I’ve been reconnecting with some of my favorite family stories and memories.

Here’s one that keeps resurfacing. When my nephew, Dwight, was about four-years-old, he and his pal Justin were in my sister’s backyard. The boys were dressed as Ninja Turtles, lunging at each other with pretend swords.

“You’re dead!” yelled Justin as he jabbed his stick toward Dwight.

“I’m not dead,” declared Dwight, lisping through his missing teeth. “I got my Thuperman thuit on under!”

I just love this thtory, I mean, story. (Apologies, by the way, to Dwight, who’s now a strong, strapping young man with perfectly straight teeth.) Dwight had thought ahead to his Ninja Turtle duel and realized he might need an extra layer of protection. His hidden Superman suit gave him the resilience to keep on fighting at any cost.

Remarkable, right?

I’ve shared Dwight’s four-year-old wisdom so many times over the years that “Thuperman thuit on under”—always said with a full lisp—has become shorthand in my world for, “I’ve got this.” For example, when my Navy SEAL pal was piloting a plane and had to make an emergency landing in a cornfield, he told me his “Thuperman thuit on under” helped him stay calm and focused. When I was racing outrigger canoes, my team’s pre-race mantra was, “Got your Thuperman thuit on under?”

On my wedding day, my husband stripped off his tux to reveal a Superman suit underneath—and he presented me with one to put on, too. (We have two sets of wedding photos: one in our finery and another in full-superhero costume. I’m not sure which one I love more.) By donning our protective layer, we were declaring, “We’re ready for anything!”

Imagine if we all had a “Thuperman thuit on under.” (Maybe Wonder Woman is more your style—it’s totally up to you.) We’d have instant access to our inner strength, that invisible core of resilience that makes us able to bend without breaking, adapt without angsting, and give without griping. We’d feel protected, supported, and safe—all things we must feel in order to listen to, empathize with, and care for others. We could move through the world feeling grounded and fearless.

Maybe that’s a fantasy reserved for, well, superheroes. But as we wrap up a year like no other—and get ready for more uncertainty ahead—I’m keeping my Thuperman thuit on under at all times. My then-four-year-old nephew may have been only pretending he was a superhero, but he certainly convinced me.

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