My kids think I have special powers like eyes in the back of my head and ultra-sensitive hearing. It’s true that my ears are practically bionic. Despite years of sleep deprivation, I wake up every time a kid coughs.

I’d gladly trade my extraordinary ears for these Supermom powers though. I bet you would too.

1. The ability to stop time for 20 minutes so we can savor a child’s latest achievement or shave our legs without interruption.
2. Selective memory that gives us total recall for happy, carefree moments and amnesia for major meltdowns (theirs and ours).
3. A magic wand that instantly heals scraped knees and hurt feelings.
4. Insight that allows us to know what our kids really want to say but don’t.
5. The capacity to step back and see our kids the way their wise, loving grandparents see them.
6. The power to be two (or three) places at once, like your son’s hockey game, your daughter’s dance recital and your boss’s project planning meeting.
7. Patience to let kids learn their own life lessons, even when we could fix things in half the time with a lot less drama.
8. A secret language for sharing our deepest feelings so kids know how much we really love them.
9. The ability to slip into silly mode alongside our kids without worrying about public humiliation or our too-long to-do lists.
10. A good fairy who pops in to reassure us when mistakes or self-doubt make us feel like not-so-super moms.

Heidi Smith Luedtke is a personality psychologist and mom who simultaneously wishes for a larger lap and thinner thighs. Learn more at HeidiLuedtke.com.