But I Smile Anyway…

I don’t know where I come from but I’m here now so deal with it.

Gary Busey

Strange quote to start with, but Spidey was adamant that I write about this today.

A while back a fellow blogger and reader of my blog, Eloise, asked me where Spidey’s Serene Sundays started, and when I told her, she said I should blog about the origins of the feature, as many who weren’t following me at the start would be intrigued.

I mean, Spidey’s not necessarily known for being ‘serene’. Stealthy, maybe, but not really serene.

So, I thought, since I’m on a bit of a blogging break, I’d give Spidey a break too, and tap a few words out telling you his story.

Spidey and I go back a decade, and it’s not because I’m a huge Marvel or superhero fan, but because of my son, Lil Man, and his early obsession wiith the above-mentioned webtastic dude.

Lil Man really was obsessed. It’s not an exaggeration to use the term obsessed to describe his love of Spiderman. For about four or five years, everything had to be all about Spidey in our household.

I’m not even sure where the obsession started. Was it when he sat with his Dad, watching one of the movies? I’m pretty sure he didn’t watch the cartoons initially.

Who knows? But however it started, it continued to the extent that all his clothes had to have something Spidey orientated about them, from T-Shirts to underpants, nightwear, swimwear to hats and coats. Even shoes! And then there was the backpacks, and a min scateboard.

Lil Man slowly amassed a HUGE collection of various figurines and toys of Spidey in various forms, and the villains too; big, small, Lego versions.

He even had Spidey to help him begin reading, with Spiderman Early Reader books, and I even found letter and number formation Spiderman books, as he was totally uninterested in mark making, but these books put his interest square in the middle of his learning!

He played Spiderman games, and even had me up at silly hours of the night to try and help him overcome stages he was stuck at! I would battle the iPad games and Hubby Dearest was tasked with helping to complete Playstation ones!

As I mentioned before, I’m really not into these superhero things, but I have watched the first three Toby Macguire Spiderman films umpteen times, and boy was this lad excited when the release of one Spidey film fell on his birthday weekend, and it was a 12A which meant that even though he wasn’t 12, with our approval and accompaniment, he could watch the film at the cinema! I even found DVD’s of some of the original cartoons for him, and he has a couple of original comics too, thanks to friends who knew of his penchant for all things Spiderman.

Heck, one day I opened my email to find my ‘bid’ for a life size bust of Spidey had been accepted… except I hadn’t even seen the auction. Guess who had though? And guess which silly mummy had forgotten that her Ebay account was permanently logged in on her iPad, that said someone used regularly? And at £200, that was an expensive mistake that I made sure I didn’t make again! (No, I don’t have the bust because, thankfully, the seller was understanding when I explained that my Spidey crazy child had placed the bid without my knowledge or consent!)

Lil Man loved to play the Punjabi dhol drum, and at one time said his dream job would be to be the first Dhol Playing Spiderman, as he dressed in one of his numerous Spidey costumes, and played his drum. Actually, he even had a blue and red traditional costume that was made for him, that made him rather Spidey-like!

And for about 4 years, every World Book Day, I didn’t have to be creative, because he HAD to go as Spiderman!

Now, how does all this translate to the beginnings of Spidey’s Serene Sunday?

Well, not long after I had started the blog, Lil Man was still quite enamoured of the man in red and blue, so the toy figures were scattered around the house. There were tons in his room, and plenty scattered around the living room, and in various nooks and crannies.

Sometimes Spidey and friends would accompany him in the bath, if he was having a splash around too.

And one Sunday morning, I entered the bathroom and found Spidey on the windowsill, in the position you see in the Spidey image above. I know his fingers are in the position they are for his web slinging, but, if you ask my Pops, he’ll tell you they are also in quite a yogic position, relating to reflexology.

So, sitting there, in his own quiet metidation, he really did look rather serene, and I had to take a photo.

And as it was Sunday, Spidey’s Serene Sunday was born!

After that, every Sunday, Spidey inspired me to find a quote that either would motivate others, or encompassed something I was dealing with at the time, to discuss with my readers.

And as you can see from the number of weeks we have been Spidey-ing on Sundays, (240!) it is around four and a half years that he has graced my blog on a Sunday.

Wow!

So, there you have it. The origins of Spidey’s Serene Sundays!

Have a peaceful Sunday Peeps.  And enjoy your week! ❤