When I was young, I was scared of everything. Truly, I must have been one of the most frightened humans on the planet. Even the idea of walking down a hill unassisted sent me into a tizzy. Upon reflection, I’m not really sure what the hell it was that set me off, but I do know that through it all the fear was always abandoned when a certain superhero would come around. I had no use for Spiderman, Batman or any of those silly X-Men. I had a power that was ten times stronger and only interested in protecting four little humans on this planet. That superhero was my dad.
My dad never missed one sports event. He was never absent for one skinned knee or any reckless sprained ankles or wrists. He was always cheering us on, whether it be at a swim meet or at the dinner table after a long day. No matter what the world threw at us, this man was there with a giant shield and heavy armor to swipe it all away.
As we all get older, I do believe we go through a period where loving your dad is “uncool.” It’s cool, instead, to be rebellious and scream to the world that your parents are no-good-worthless-idiots who know nothing and only have “ruining your life” on their to-do list. Then there comes a time when you realize that your parents are anything but uncool. In fact, when that moment hits you you’ll wonder why you ever doubted any decision, why you ever used a mean word to describe their intentions, or why you were anything but grateful every step of the way.
When I was going through the worst of times, no matter where I was on the globe, my father would always tell me one thing. It’s only two words and they, to this day, hold more power than any other set. He would said, “No Fear.” Sure, I know it’s a popular slogan and t-shirt company these days, but Dad was saying it long before it became officially cool to say. He was trying to tell me, always, to live my life without fear or regret and it’s helped me to become everything I am today, which I sincerely hope makes him proud. Everyday I do something that I hope makes my superhero proud. I hope it makes him proud that he protected me from the mean girls, the jerk guys and the great big globe that always loved to throw a curveball in my direction.
Dad, this one’s for you. And while all of your four little ones are scattered around the world today, we’re all thinking the same thing – how lucky we are to have had a man always pushing us harder than we ever thought we could be pushed, while protecting us every step of the way. What more could someone in this world hope for? Thank you and Happy Father’s Day.
