For a day that’s all about celebrating superheroes, it’s no surprise that National Superhero Day was founded by Marvel Comics in 1995. Now, every year since its birth on April 28, 1995, people come together annually on this day to celebrate all their favorite heroes. No matter if your favorite heroes are fictional or real, this is the day to be thankful for them.
As for the real-life superheroes, National Superhero Day also recognizes the heroes that people look up to every day.
No matter if they wear masks, capes, scrubs or uniforms, everyone has someone they think of like a superhero. This national day began and grew so that everyone’s role models could get a well-deserved shout-out for whatever hard work they do.
So on this Superhero Day, I would like to recognize some of the real-life heroes that are in my life.
Healthcare Workers
I work in healthcare and have for over two decades. I have seen the dedication of my co-workers and colleagues. I’ve always had respect for those in the field, but even more so over the last year of dealing with all the Covid complications, separations from family, lock-downs and quarantines. Doctors, nurses, techs, environmental services, food service workers: you are absolutely superheroes in my book!
Single Parents
I am a single parent. I have spent the majority of my parenting life as a single mom. I grew up with a single mom. Looking back over my childhood, I can see how my mom struggled sometimes just to put food on the table for us. I didn’t appreciate it then. I was young and dumb and self-absorbed. But now, as I struggle at times as a single mom, I can see with clear eyes how amazing my mom is. She went without all the time for my sister and me. We never truly went without. We didn’t have the most extravagant life or vacations or name-brand clothes. But we were ALWAYS taken care of. Much of how I parent my own children mimics how my mom parented me, and I don’t think I turned out too bad.
Teachers
My full appreciation and adoration goes out to teachers, of any and all grades. They have the patience of saints and the wisdom of the philosophers of the past. Through all the times we’ve had to have remote/virtual school at home, I have learned that I definitely did not enter the wrong profession. My applause to the teachers in my children’s lives. The way that they have had to adjust, almost on a day-to-day basis is second to none. This has been an insane time, especially when it comes to schooling our kids. But teachers, to me, are real superheroes on a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute basis!
My Kids
I look up to my kids? Yup, I sure do! You always hear that kids are more resilient than adults, and I am here to agree with that statement a million times over! I’m not going to sugarcoat this. Going through this trying time over the last year has been especially hard on our kids. They have had to deal with school changes. They have had to deal with not seeing their friends and even family. They have had to adjust their life schedules, continually. And while children do seem to adapt easier to the changes in life better than many adults I know (myself included), it’s still been quite the trial for them! They are my heroes, today, and every day.
Superheroes don’t always show up in a cape and fight the “bad guys.” Sometimes, they are just ordinary people, doing extraordinary tasks. But mostly, they are people in our lives that we can look up to and say, “You’re amazing and you make me proud to know you!”
Who are YOU celebrating on Superhero Day?
