Yesterday’s question was not an easy one. The question was:

Who do you consider to be your hero?

I didn’t get a lot of answers, but that’s okay with me. My philosophy is answer only if you want to, this isn’t school after all (more on that later). It is a tricky question. You have to consider what you define a her as and then try to find someone who fits into that criteria. Everyone has their own definition and it is a personal thing that you may not want to share. But since this space is basically my journal, I’m willing to share some

I think I have three categories to fill for heroes. The first would be parents, and I think most people would agree and feel the same way about their parents. They sacrifice and do all they can to try to make growing up and your world a better place. A few of the people who answered me said it was their mother or father, and I would have to agree. Both my mom and dad were good role models for me not only growing up, but throughout my adult life as well. They tried to teach me and guide me through life, let me make my mistakes and earn my kudos and gains so I could turn out to be the type of person they wanted me to be. They both worked really hard to make sure all of us (and there are six of us out there) had what we needed not just in a material sense, but in a moral and psychological sense as well. I think we all turned out to be pretty good people because of them.

My second hero would have to be my wife Michelle. I’ve written before about her on Facebook and those that know me personally know how wonderful a person she really is. She’s my hero for so many reasons, least of which is that she saved my life three years ago when I got sick.  We’ve had our share of ups and downs. Sometimes it seems like more than our share, and sometimes it seems like more downs that ups, but she has always taken whatever life has thrown at us and dealt with it. I think a lot of that can be attributed to the incredible strength that Michelle has. She may complain about a problem or something that comes up, but she tackles it, wrestles with it and inevitably comes out on the better for it. She has an amazing ability to deal with literally everything. I am sure there are times when she is stressed to the limit by everything and yet she still can find her way to clearly sort things out.

Michelle is the most selfless, giving person I have ever met. She will do anything to try to help someone, see it through to the end and never ask for anything in return. She’s been like that for as long as I have known her and it is one of the many things I love about her. She doesn’t think twice about trying to help someone, no matter what the situation and if she can’t do it herself, she’ll figure out a way for someone else to help out. She gives constantly and there are many times where I feel like I don’t give enough back to her or she doesn’t get enough back from others, but she doesn’t seem to care. She loves to make other people happy.

Michelle is the best mom I have ever seen. We tried for years to have a baby, had some setbacks and she had a very hard pregnancy with Sean and was hospitalized several times before Sean was born 3 weeks early. After he was born, he was in the NICU for a few days to build up his strength and Michelle was still too weak to see him. Two minutes after they unhooked her from machines, she was down in the NICU to hold him and be with him. It has been like that ever since. Even though she works really hard and is often very tired, she always makes time to do something with Sean. They go to the movies, go swimming, go for ice cream and sometimes just cuddle on the bed with the dog to relax. Sean is so much like her in the way he cares for others. It makes me so happy to see that he is like her in this way.

I can’t believe what Michelle has done for me the last 3 years, let alone most of my life. When my father got sick, she didn’t think twice about what had to be done. She sacrificed what little free time she had and allowed me to leave my job so I could help take care of Dad for a year. I left her for weeks at a time to deal with the house, work and Sean and she never complained. When I got sick in 2009, she had to go through it all over again. Actually, I can’t imagine having to go through what she did. Driving to the hospital several times a day, spending hours dealing with hospital staff and staying by my side the whole time I was in a coma while she dealt with Sean, the house, the bills and everything else. I can never explain how much it all meant for me. She has helped me through my recovery, keeping me going, prodding me on when I didn’t feel like doing any more, lifting me up when I have been depressed. She is always there.

Even though I tell her I love her every day, I don’t think I could ever really express how much I do love her. She fills in every void in my life, complements and completes me in every way and fills my heart in a way that no other person can. To say she is my personal hero is understatement; she is a hero in every definition of the word.

My third hero may seem a little bit of odd choice, but again it relates personally to what I have gone through. Is it odd that a hero could be a young boy? No, I guess it is, and if you know Eric Thomas and his story, then you know what I mean. Eric is the son of some good friends of mine and has had to endure a lot for a little boy. He has a rare genetic blood disorder that could only be treated with a bone marrow transplant. He went through months in the hospital, tests upon tests, medicine upon medicine and endured all the side effects that went along with them. Thankfully, his sister was a perfect match as bone marrow donor. The transplant was performed and after more months in the hospital building his system back up he was able to return home. He still has to deal with some medical issues, but he has always been able to push through everything fiercely, never doubting for a moment that he can do it and everything will come out okay. Eric and his family were going through a lot when I got sick and was hospitalized. Eric and I went through similar situations, spending months in the hospital, doing all kinds of rehabilitation therapies, taking all kinds of medicine. He has been an inspiration to me through it all. I think about what I went through and can’t even imagine how hard it would be to do it and be 5, 6 or 7, but he did it. Like me, I am sure there were days when he didn’t want to do it, but he always seem to have the fight in him to keep going and move forward. That’s the spirit that inspires me and makes him one of my heroes.

So now, that we covered heroes, we can move on to today’s question. Since today is National Teacher’s Appreciation Day, here is the question:

Who is your most memorable teacher? The one who inspired you, kept you going, helped you learn? The one who has made a lasting impact on your life? It can be from any grade, elementary school, middle school, high school, college, whatever. People get inspired by teachers at different moments and different times, so whomever it was that did this for you, let me know. And if you can get in touch with them and say thanks, maybe that would be a nice thing to do today. I’ll post the question on Twitter too and see if I get any response.

Thanks to those who answered yesterday’s question, including Penn Jillette, who says the Amazing Randi, James Randi, is his hero. I’ll post my answer to the question tomorrow. You can leave response here, on Twitter, or my Facebook page if you like. Until tomorrow, have a great day and do something creative today!