Real Life Superhero

Today is the day we celebrate our childhood hero.  Some children grow up idolizing fictitious characters like Superman, Batman, and Spiderman.  These characters were larger than life and represented the idea of power and influence and imagination. The problem is these fictitious superheroes had powers that were unattainable.  We were not going to fly, leap buildings in a single bound, shoot webs out of our hands, and most of us don’t come from families of billionaires! LOL

Brother, Dad, Me (Left to Right)

Many of us, however, were fortunate enough to have a real life superhero; a superhero that we got to spend time with everyday; a superhero that appeared larger than life; a superhero that was a real life role model; a superhero who showered us with unconditional love; a superhero who made us feel that we were the most important people on the planet; a superhero that made us believe anything was possible.  That superhero for me was my dad.

I even remember a story when I was a little kid when I was sitting in the passenger seat of my mom’s car and I asked my dad to race the car. I couldn’t have been more than 5 or 6 years old and I believed the only way to tell how fast my dad could run was to measure it with the speed of a car.  He was a superhero to me because no matter what was going on in his life, my brother and I always were a top priority.  He always made time to coach all of my baseball teams and I can’t remember him ever missing one of my high school baseball games, even if that meant skipping dinner after a 12-hour workday.  He never let me go without the things I needed but also taught me how to appreciate everything I have in life.  Still to this day, he continues to amaze me with his physical feats such as playing baseball with guys 1/3 his age! It literally defies the natural law of what the human body should be able to do, yet my dad is doing it!

There are very few things that are as special as the love between a father and son.  As I get older, I appreciate that love more and more.  At this very moment, the thought of what my dad has done for me and the love he has demonstrated throughout my life brings tears to my eyes.  For all these reasons and many more, my dad is my superhero.

Love,

Matt