Growing up how many of you imagined you were a superhero? I’m sure the answer for the majority of you was yes. As we get older some of us start to have a stifled imagination. One of the MANY advantages to having weekly date nights is it keeps the imagination very active. I’ve also noticed a lot of our dates are a spin on things we did as kids.

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This week’s edition of Weeknight Date Night was selected by me, and it definitely had us feeling childish (in a good way). I told Anthony that he needed to dress comfortably for this date, and we’d need to leave our house by 6:30. We hopped in the car, and in no time we had arrived at Target. Yes, the store. Before getting out of the car I explained the first part of the date to Anthony. I informed him that our budget was $40 ($20 apiece). I also let him know that we were to take the money and purchase items to create a superhero version of ourselves.

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We decided that Anthony would pick out his items first. It didn’t take long before he picked up a few items. He eagerly put them in the cart and said, “I’m finished”. I was up next and let’s just say it took me quite a bit longer than it did him. But pretty soon I had enough material to create a powerful superhero. (By the way we only went over our budget by $1).

We went back home and got started on making these superheroes come to life. It was definitely great to take the materials we bought at Target and pair them with things we already had at home. After we masterfully created our alter egos we came up with back stories and then tested our super powers. Seriously, you can’t go out trying to save the world if you haven’t tested your superpowers. We played around a little more and I thought before we took to the streets of Nashville to conquer the bad guys I felt I should let Anthony in on the second part of the date.

I informed him that we’d take pictures, print out our back stories and take them and a few other items to Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to give to the kids. I imagine it can get tough sometimes being at the hospital but a little bit of hope and love can add a world of difference.

Below are the back stories for the superheroes as well as their powers.

This is “Queen Spread Love”. She is here to spread joy and cheer to all kids around the world. Queen Spread Love has the superpower of spreading love and giving out plenty of hugs. Hugs always make people feel better and can also make us feel safe. It expresses love and support! She also has magical bubbles. These magical bubbles help kids in need during their hard times. When you’re having a tough day remember the power of Queen of Spread Love and find a nice person you know and give them a hug!

This is “Captain Hope”. He is here to let kids all over the world know to always have hope. No matter how bad you feel if you have hope then you can make it through anything. Captain Hope’s superpower lies within his Shield of Hope. Whenever kids are having a bad day Captain Hope brings out his shield and strikes away all the bad things. When you’re having a tough day remember the power of Captain Hope and know that if you have hope then anything is possible.

The next day after work I went to Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and spoke to Laura Powers in the Family Resource Center. I told her all about our date night and asked how others could also donate. Laura was extremely helpful and provided me with their Wish List. The Wish List can also be found online (click on wish list to see the full list of items). Laura also let me know that Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is always open to donations and right after the holidays is a great time to give. Some of the items on the Wish List can be found in the dollar bin at many stores.

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Why Should You Donate to Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt?

  1. Donated items help provide a sense of normalcy to patients
  2. Donated items can be very helpful learning tools
  3. Donated items help create a better healing environment for the patients
  4. Donated items are also useful and provide healing to the patients’ families
  5. By donating items you’re helping the community

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This week’s edition of Weeknight Date Night proved that you can still have a vivid imagination as an adult, that it’s still fun to play dress up and lastly we can ALL be heroes just for one day!