Lately I have been thinking a lot about heroes.  The recent rescue of the Thai soccer team the Wild Boars and their coach from the waterlogged Tham Luang caves held the attention of just about everyone.  I watched on and off and rejoiced as each boy was retrieved and brought safely out of the cave.

The rescue was indeed an incredible feat and the risks were so extreme that it is difficult for me to imagine how the rescue happened at all.  The seriousness of it all came to light even more on July 6th with the death of former Thai Navy SEAL Saman Kunan, who ran out of air while returning from an operation to deliver oxygen tanks to the cave.  He has been hailed as a hero. Many reports I read stated that the mood dramatically changed for all of those involved after this event and understandably so.

The whole event got me to thinking  about heroes and what that really means.  According to Wikipedia a hero is:

hero (masculine) or heroine (feminine) is a real person or a main character of a literary work who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, bravery or strength: the original hero type of classical epics did such things for the sake of glory and honor. On the hand are  Medieval and modern heroes, who perform great deeds for the common good instead of the classical goal of pride and fame.

The definition of a hero has changed throughout time. Merriam Webster dictionary defines a hero as “a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities.”

So yes – the definition has changed over the years and when I think of heroes I guess I tend to think more of someone who has done something brave or who stands above others with qualities that are admirable.  I truly believe that there are heroes all around us and I know several in real life.

My husband would qualify as a hero in my book.  Oh he may not look like a “super hero” in the terms of Hollywood but he is.  What makes him a hero?

• His untiring support of me when I am not always the easiest to support
• His quiet way of acknowledging that there is a need and addressing it in the best way that he can
• The way that he continues to love and support and advise our sons even as they grow into adults
• His quest for learning and always trying to strive for excellence

Those are just a few things off the top of my head that set him apart as a hero in my book.

Another hero that I bumped into the other day at our local Ingles grocery store was one of Brevard’s Special Olympians, Bob Molloy.  Bob bags my groceries quite often and I always try to go in his line if I see he is working because he is just one of those guys that I consider a hero in his own right.  Bob recently returned home from the USA Games in Seattle, Washington and when I saw him at Ingles he proudly showed me his gold medals as well as laying out all of the literature and pictures that he had collected from his trip.

So heroes are all around us.  In a lot of shapes and sizes.  Regular ordinary people that stand out above all others because of some special thing that they have done.

Today let’s celebrate the heroes in our lives.  Let’s tell them how much they mean to us and give them a gold medal or a chocolate bar or something.  “Smile”

Tell me about a hero in your life.  Who do you consider a hero and why?  Remember to Comment for a Cause for July’s recipient – Toiletry Drive for Students.