Cape-less Heroes

Humans from small to big are enamored with their heroes; comics, parents, teachers, coaches, etc.  As children our first hero was our father, at least for most of us it was...My dad, intelligent giant with the heart that could've only been created by the great I AM.  To say that I love my dad is an understatement of seismic proportions.  He is an amazing man in his achievements, decisions and in his morality.  He without a doubt was my number one hero.  Here's the truth of the matter...he wasn't there when the bad things happened and he was last on the scene.  I remember the day I realized that my hero was cape-less.  With little girls their daddies fall off their pedestal and it is a normal part of moving into adulthood.  Its how we move into the reality that all people are flawed including those we hold high above all else.  It's the first lesson in this concept we suffer but it is not the last.  Now this is a generalization because for those of you daughters who have not known your father then its a father figure or the next significant adult in your life.  A similar thing happens with little boys and their mothers I am sure but can only assume.

Various people come in and out of your life and you find that disappointment in the form of cape-less heroes is as common as the trees of North Carolina not just in their number but their variety.  These random heroes are friends, neighbors, boy/girlfriends and co-workers of the military and civilian walks of life, less likely on the military side (Go NAVY!)  We deal in a variety of ways ranging from blame to denial to seclusion but no one can handle the coping mechanism for long because evolution of human in the physical, emotional and spiritual is inevitable.  At some point your mechanism is no long sufficient because its holding you back more than its propelling you forward and the act of change compels.

As a single person you try to maintain your optimism that every new "one" has the potential of being the last one.  Hope this is the most useless of actions, in my opinion, because its not an action at all but it keeps your optimism in a place of reasonable level that you don't drown in despair.  Despair is kept at bay, for me, by faith.  Faith there's a plan, faith there's a purpose, faith that an explanation no matter how far out of my understanding can be had and dictate the course of life.  If you get close enough to someone to tell them your fears, your desires and/or vision of the future then you have decided that they are your everyday hero.  They might be the one that will help you make sense of the damage to your heart and quiet the sorrows your eyes have seen and your soul yet carries.  You share and they share.  If it ends, your faith is shaken and the cape-less hero is now the villain that robbed a little piece of your soul.  You'll get it back that is assured but this is a lesson in humanity that stays longer than being disappointed by your dad or your kids.  If you aren't careful this could be the last lesson you learn as you contemplate where in the spectrum you plot yourself for the better part of your adulthood:

blame------------------------denial------------------------seclusion

Plot but don't stay too long.