Current Heroes
We have been reading and listening to the heroes among us for the past six-plus weeks. The frontline hospital doctors and nurses who fight for us daily to save our families’ and friends’ lives. The police officers and firefighters who assist us when we are stranded or in peril. The grocery and supply center clerks and stockers who go to work daily without the extra gear, but only a mask to protect themselves. There are so many more around that deserve our praises, both now and when this is over. I am in total agreement that these selfless people are our true heroes.
Parental Heroes
As a teen I was brought up in a family of divorce, but with love, compassion, and the understanding that I could not grasp what was happening around me. My parents gave me their attention, conversations, and expertise to help me through that messy time. This even assisted me decades later when dealing with my own failed marriage, while keeping the children as safe from scars as possible. Why mention this now?
The parents of today are navigating uncharted territories in their personal and work battles of being sheltered in place while having children at the house. I do not need to describe what the parents go through daily with school schedules, Zoom conferences, online learning, delegating, and attempting to keep the family organized on a consistent schedule… all while having to learn how to teach.
Luckily for me, my mother was one of the best in her field. She was a teacher at Hockaday in Dallas for over thirty years. Her tutelage, life lessons, and planning saved me throughout my entire school and college career. She also passed onto me her passion for teaching, and to this day I love sharing any knowledge I have, especially in haberdashery and martial arts.
These parents at home though must be considered our modern heroes. They have always selflessly run their families and children on a daily basis, but now it is 24/7. If you have older children then you remember the days of schooling, but never did we have to sit with them five days or more a week to teach, while still attempting to do our other jobs and vocations from home.
Mother’s Day
This Mother’s Day we all need to take the time to thank our parents not only for everything that they do to make our world go ’round, but also for what they have done and continue to do for our families every day. Without the parent, none of us are really heroes. It all starts somewhere, and most of the time that place is at home.
My mom has always been my hero. I can never repay her for what she gave me; I can only love her (show and tell) as well.
I love you, Mom. You are my personal hero.
Kory Helfman
Ken’s Man’s Shop
Dallas Haberdasher
