Happy Father's Day!

Ever since my son was an itty-bitty, his father has been reading to him about heroes and their adventures. Larry sat next to Zane's bed, with a book opened, and a tiny book light. From downstairs, I could hear his deep voice, ebbing and flowing with the words to The Hobbit, until Zane fell asleep.

Then came the day that Zane began responding to Larry while he read, asking questions about Gandalf and Bilbo and Smaug.

And night after night, as I listened to them sharing their special time together, my thoughts turned to what makes a hero, and what makes a dad.

Heroes don't always have to wear tights, or carry a gun, or run into burning buildings.

Sometimes, a hero can be a man who spent the night with his newborn in the NICU because his wife was unable to leave ICU.

A hero can sometimes be a man who stops what he is doing, no matter how important it might be, to read a book to his son.

A man who cares enough about his child to show him how to type his name on the computer, even if that child accidentally deletes several hours of work, can be a hero.

A hero can be the man who listens to his child ask the same question over and over, and answers that question calmly, over and over.

A hero can be a man who goes outside with his son to ride a bike, even though his back is hurting from working all day.

A hero could be a man who stays up all night putting together a train table so Santa can get all the credit.

A hero can be the man who takes his boy to the pool to swim, even though he knows he's going to get very sunburned(even with sunscreen!).

A hero can be a man who takes the time to pronounce words very carefully, so that his child can learn them.

To Zane, his father is his hero. That is how it should be.

Happy Father's Day to the man I love, who is also my hero.