He’s quite a bit younger than I.
We only get together when he appears on my T.V. screen.
He’s very married. (The fact that I, also, am very much married is no impediment to our crushy union. Apparently.)
The truth is, I am way crazier about Clark Kent as portrayed by Tom Welling in Smallville than I am about Tom Welling himself. There are reasons for this. Good, strong, compelling reasons that contain only a teensy-weensy amount of “ick” factor.
He’s drop-dead gorgeous.
He fights against evil--with his fists.
He’s so doggone sweet and innocent-like.
He looks remarkably like (brace yourself for the “ick” factor) my oldest son (if my son’s hair were a smidge darker, his eyes a bit larger, and if he walked a bit less like a duck) (but really—the resemblance is remarkable!)
What gets me in the gut are the expressions. They have the Exact. Same. Ones. When Clark beedles his dark brow in righteous indignation or confusion (he’s gets confused a lot for a guy whose been around the block a few times but he looks adorable when confused so I care not), or when he is exposed to kryptonite/realizes he is actually bleeding, he has that adorable pained/confused look on his face, or when he is manfully trying to hold back a flood of tears—it’s my son up there---but with darker hair, bigger eyes and straighter legs (and a smidge less body fat).
My handsome, smart, developmentally/learning/emotionally disabled son is my Superman. He saves me every day by making me the person I am meant to become.
You know what gets me the most?
When Clark mourns that because of his differences, he will never have a normal relationship.
That he will never fit in or feel like he truly belongs.
And when he yearns for a home that he has never seen?
That’s my son up there on that screen.
My Superman.
And I mourn with him.