Hero

This is a word that brings me mixed feelings.  On the one hand, I think of childhood fantasies where I somehow saved the day and won over the love and respect of those around me.  This clearly originates in part from watching too many cartoons with the stock storyline of hero defeats monster, gets what he (and it is usually he) wants.  It may also have stemmed from feelings of conditional love. 

On the other hand, there is a local campaign called 'Help for Heroes' which tries to raise money for the victims of war from the last decade who happen to be members or ex-members of the British Armed Forces.  In particular, those who have been injured during their service.  These people have been working for an organisation which, sometimes illegally, invades other countries has been responsible for the murder, abuse and displacement of thousands of people every month.  I'm not a fan of the military.....Now, these are of course still people, with families and loved ones, and absolutely deserve to be treated as such.  So, although I have no problem with the work that the charity does, I can't agree with their use of the term hero.

So, I want to redefine my association with the word hero. I'll use the Oxford definition:

"a person, typically a man, who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities"

Well, who wouldn't love this sort of hero?  The first person who comes into my mind when I read that is the co-writer of this blog, who I am lucky enough to be married to.  I could probably write a whole blog on her heroics!  You can read the posts that are already up about our childbirth experiences for starters.  In particular, I remember her fearless approach to making sure she did absolutely everything she could to improve Hugo and Charlie's chances, and the massive amount of research and physical effort this took.  I remember months of agony whilst they fed from both sides from raw nipples that got barely any rest, not even at night, and the extreme mental and physical exhaustion that resulted.  But we knew that was what they needed and so she just did it.  And the same goes for Ruperts birth; months of preparation to ensure that she was in the right frame of mind resulted in a pleasurable experience for all, all apart from a 20 minute period when both her body and Ruperts went into rest mode and scared the medical team  (and even then it took a lot of convincing).

But the heroics continue. Every day she strives to improve the way that she parents and would do anything if she believed it to be best for the family.   I only wish that I could express on here how much I am in awe of her, and all that she manages to do.

So, Syenna is an obvious hero for me.  But we are lucky enough to be surrounded by people with all sorts of heroic qualities.  They do things that I wish I could do.  Things like this.  And like some of the families we know, who show extraordinary patience with their children and ours (I really wish I had more patience!) and defy all norms to do exactly what they feel best for their family, apparently without a second thought.  It's these kinds of heroics that we need to honour, not the Hollywood kind.

If you would like to mention any heros in your life, please do so in the comments.