When I was in Kindergarten, I misspelled a word on an assignment for the first and only time in my life.

I was devastated. I was fairly certain I would be expelled from school and that my family would disown me. All hope of a successful future appeared to be lost, and I lamented the inevitable consequences of my egregious error to my Mom.

Somehow suppressing laughter while offering wise words of consolation, my Mom said, “Oh it’s ok!  Everyone makes mistakes. Don’t your friends make mistakes?”

My friends weren’t even literate at this point, so that made me feel slightly better. She continued:

“Does Mommy make mistakes?”

“Oh yeah! All the time!” I replied.

And then came the jugular question:

“Does Daddy make mistakes?”

My countenance, which had been trending in a more cheerful direction, immediately darkened into a serious scowl.

“Nope. Dad doesn’t mess up. Ever.”

Well, my Mom encouraged my Dad to start screwing up a little bit more frequently around me after that…and despite my 5-year old delusions, I now know he would be the first one to admit his imperfections.

But every kid is supposed to think that his or her Dad is Superman. And my Dad taught me that that a true Superman is characterized by humility. A true Superman stands up for what’s right, even if he’s standing alone. A true Superman loves unconditionally and will always leave people better than he found them.

Happy birthday, Dad. You’re the Super-est Man I’ve ever known.