I think most children at some point dream of being a superhero. I know I did. If I am totally honest I still think about it from time to time. The idea of flying through the air, or swinging on a web, or even controlling an element is appealing. I also love the ideals of fighting for all that is right, just, and true.

As a dad while my children are young I get to be a bit of a superhero to them. It is a feeling that I love. Before I had children I don’t think I have known a single person that held me in such high esteem. I know one day this will all come crashing down. I will stop being their superhero and I will become the most embarrassing human being they have ever met. This is something that cannot be helped it is the circle of life.

Something that I am trying to keep in mind is that my children are not my sidekicks. They are heros in their own right. Simeon, our oldest son is becoming so much like me. I love it. I love that he plays Mario like a champ, that he has started to play with Transformers, that he likes to go swimming, he loves to read, and he watches Pokemon.

I love this, but I also want him to be his own person. I have to remind myself that my job is not to try to reproduce myself in my son. My job is to help him discover who is is and who is wants to be. While for the moment I may be a superhero in his eyes, I cannot treat him like my sidekick. He is has to be superhero in my eyes.