My Dad, Superman .

"My Daddy Strongest", went an ad slogan a few years back. It had a cute little girl mouthing those words.

Like that girl, my dad is a has been & is a role model and much more for me.
He is everything i want to be. he is my Superman.

I have grown up seeing my dad work very hard throughout his life.
He does not like to rest on weekends. He remains physically active, much to the ire of my mom who prefers to rest. Dad's constantly doing something - repairing stuff, tinkering with various items in the house, dusting, or just plain moving around (he cant sit still ! ! )

He's almost 49 now. And NOW he gets tired. Often. He has some age related problems - cholestrol, Blood Pressure etc.
He still pulls my mom for weekend drives & mall-hopping stints, but returns home extremely tired & often with a headache.

He even sleeps on weekend afternoons sometimes (an unheard of thing in my house. i've taken up that habit of not sleeping in the afternoons).

All this is normal - YES - with age. But I just can't accept my Superman getting old.
I want him to be the same as earlier. It pains me to see him grow old, tired & down with any sort of ailment.

As a son, i don't want this to happen.

The trend will soon reverse (or, is in the process of reversing gradually) - it was him taking care of me, nurturing me. Now, i ll have to take up that role.

I hope i can emulate him in all that he did
Many sons want to go beyond what their father was, what their father achieved.
I don't. Apart from the fact that it's very difficult to - I always want to live in his shadow.

After all, it's the shadow of SUPERMAN ! !