Heroes

Today while we were out running errands, we (meaning myself and my four kids) went to a local grocery store.  While we were there, Logan picked out a WWF action figure that he wanted.

When we got into the car, I asked him, "Logan, who is that?"  He held up the figure with a big grin on his face and said, "That is Daddy!"

It occurred to me that every action figure that Logan has ever owned, whether it was a superhero, or an army guy, or this WWF one, has been "Daddy".  I started thinking about what that really meant.  And what that means is that Logan's daddy is the central male figure in his life.  He never identifies these figures as our neighbor, or his uncle, or a teacher.  These action figures, in their various appearances and roles, are always "Daddy".

I think sometimes that fathers underrate themselves, and don't realize the important influence they have on their children's lives.  As mothers, we get a lot of attention.  We carry the babies for nine months.  We bring them into the world.  When they're sick, they almost always want "mommy", when they're hungry, we prepare their food.  We dress them, we clothe them, we sing to them and we nurture them.  What we do as mothers is important, there's no doubt about that.

But what about dad?  I cannot speak for other families, but in our own, Logan's father works long hours.  He comes home from work and comes in the house with a smile on his face every time.  He greets the kids, and says he's glad to see them.  Logan dances around him and says, "Hi, big guy!"  And what I see on his face is adoration.  When something breaks, and we don't know what to do, Logan's dad fixes it.  (I hold the firm belief that he can fix absolutely anything, even though he says this is not the case.)  He builds things.  He takes care of problems.  He spends times with the kids.  He comforts us when we're sad, in a "buck up, this is no big deal" kind of way.  He has another job he goes to on the weekends sometimes.  When we go to church, he is right there next to Logan, distracting him with some sort of gadget, then taking him home when everything becomes too overwhelming.  He picks up the heavy burdens in my life and he makes them easier to bear.

In short, he is a hero.  And I think that's what Logan is seeing when he looks at these little action figures.  He sees these images of strong men, who are capable of all kinds of things...and he thinks, Oh, that's daddy. And he's my hero.