Parenthood; a constant whirlwind of worries, troubled nights and lost cars, or so I'm told. This blissful period of one's life continues to plague our dreams, our lives, and our souls. Burying themselves into each and every fiber of our being, integrating with our every action, holding us back yet pushing us forward to the extent of freezing time itself. It changes our very soul, morphing our fragile host bodies into something more than human. Sustained by heavenly powers granted by the Powers that be, Parents, the wonderful beings that they are, rise above every conceivable barrier. Pushing past reality into fantastical worlds I've never thought possible. Taking guises of mere humans upon Mother Earth, they walk amongst the crowds as if they were but another passing face. Truth be told, many are fooled by this guise, eyes glazed against the miraculous beaming aura which surrounds each and every one of them, taking them for, instead, muted conforming beings of no significance.

But what they are...

Yes. What they /are/... is all that matters.

They are the superheroes of today, the saviors of tomorrow; calling forth powers beyond your imagination. Super speed? Bah! Try changing a diaper. Heat-vision? How about supporting a family of five! Transcending time itself, they were here when the world first began. Subduing blood-thirsty creatures with the fabled furrowed glare, silencing creatures beneath beds with a flicker of a glance and melding the very earth to their every whim with but a casual word. Verging beyond superhuman, they've long since been replaced by the heroic stances of today's own penned paper-cut heroes due to the believability of such characters.

I mean who on earth would believe such a divine elusive creature existed yet alone still roamed the earth? A ridiculous notion indeed.

Yet I believe.

I still remember your healing breath across each and every graze as I habitually fell from my metal chariot of choice (known to others as a bike, but I digress), easing the pain with the lavish smile playing across your lips. The steady hand which pulled me from the gravel to sit dutifully upon the mythical rubber perch, encouraging whispers sounding through the air. A gentle push of encouragement sending me past the speed of light into the blissful grasp of the wind, tearing a gasp of awe from my frozen lips.

You helped me fly despite gravity. You taught me magic despite reality.

Hushing tears whence they rose in revolt, you have the power to do anything and everything I've ever thought possible and more. Yet despite this you've never rose up to take the glory. Never protested as muscled thugs replaced visions of you splashed across pages of dreams untold, never complained as you fed me with your love, never left despite it all. Kind hearted, forgiving and all-knowing, you were always there.

I was once a child; lost to the world and its wonders. I was once hurt, crying so no one could see. I was once blind, unknowing to the things yet to come.

Now I know.

I know that beyond the shadows lies a faith beyond compare. I know that through the tears are arms waiting to comfort me. I know. For that I am grateful. For every wish, for every dream I've ever seen. For every breath, for every hope that has ever been mine to experience. I thank you for being there through it all.

I thank you for who I am. I thank you for everything I've ever had.

I thank you for being you. A hero without a cape. An angel without a halo. A magician without a wand.

For every moment I've taken for granted. For every second you've given. I thank you. For all that you ever were and are within the course of my fifteen years and your fifty.

A father. A friend.

A legend without his legion of cars.