Last Friday when I invited readers to submit questions, Currently Facing South asked me “If you could be a superhero, who would you be?” and “If you could speak to anyone living or dead, who would it be and what would you talk about?”

If I were a superhero, I think I’d be Underdog. People would rub my back, give me treats, and let me sleep a lot. Hmmm, come to think about it, all of those things happen now. But if I were Underdog, I’d be able to fly and fight crime in my spare time. Sounds perfect!

As for the second question, the person I most long to speak with is my mom, who died in 1992, long before I had kids of my own.

I’d want to hear about my childhood from her perspective, tell her about my children, ask about parenting teenagers, and discuss marriage and menopause with her. I’ve dealt with episodes of depression most of my adult life, and I think she did too.

I wish we could discuss the things we never talked about: what her expectations were for her life when she was young, and whether it turned out the way she’d envisioned, whether on the whole she was happy, what she would have changed.

August 13, 2007