To be a hero, I believe you need to give yourself whole-heartedly, without any expectation of reciprocity.  Displaying courage, strength and honesty and always being there when needed.  To be fully willing to give up everything for another and not ever worrying about your own placement.

A parent fits into this category well.  Not just single parents, but your conventional two-parent homes as well.  A mother will get up night over night tending to the babies whether they are awake or not to ensure the safety and well-being of a child.  She will endure excruciating pain to give birth, excruciating pain and discomfort while nursing, and countless hours cleaning up vomit, diarrhea and spit for years.  The journey, of course, would be the fulfillment of raising your child.  Something made from you and your love to cherish and hold forever in your heart.

A son for a father and being a parent of a son means preparing them for the future, not only the educational future but a relational future.  A good example of how husband treats wife and speaking with them about what makes a marriage work and how to relate to the opposite sex are all tests and trials needing courage and knowledge to show their son the right path.  A father’s actions to a son will speak louder than words.

Once beginning parent-hood, you have such fulfillment watching your child grow and learn and you yourself learn so much from the experience.  What hero’s in my mind!  We leave the safety of our single lives to undertake raising and caring for a human being, not knowing what the end result will be.  Will they have the capacity to survive as us, and will they grow up raising their children with the morals and ethics we tried to distill in them? 

My children and I are very close and we share such an unbelievable bond.  Will I eventually understand my achievement that I have accomplished?  I hope that when I see my grandchildren some day and my boys are teaching and parenting them as I did them, I will have known that I have.