My dad was lying on the couch with my little brother attached at the hip. My brother’s head perched on my dads shoulder with both bright faces pointed towards the camera. You can tell that both smiles are genuine and they had been laughing only seconds before the photograph was snapped.
A close nit family with bonds that could never be broken. My dad, brother, and I had been the 3 Musketeers ever since my brother was brought home from the hospital. Our dad was our superhero. He was so strong and he could deal with anything; until we found his kryptonite. May2005 was when my dad broke in two. He became distant and started to shy away from my brother and I. He was starting to tear the bonds that were supposed to be invincible. The divorce took a harsh toll on everyone except my mom who was the one that initiated the split. She moved out and started renting a house causing my brother and I to go back and forth between the 2 houses; something my dad never wanted for us.
My mom started dating shortly after which was like a slap in the face to my dad. Seeing my dad like that because of my mom made me build resentment towards her and whomever she brought home for my brother and I to meet. Shortly after reuniting with a guy she dated in high school they made it official as husband and wife and not long after that my baby sister was born. During this timeline my dad was a mess and in the process our lives were a mess as well.
Still to this day there is only one time that my dad has ever cried in front of my brother and I. That was when he was saying sorry for everything that had happened in the last few months and how it was all his fault. Seeing him cry made me cry and then shortly after I started my brother fallowed. The point that was sad wasn’t the fact that he was crying but the fact that he was taking all the blame for my mother’s actions. He was saying sorry to us to try and make up for the apology that we would never hear escape her lips.
Seeing those genuine smiles and pure happiness in that picture it makes me think about how our lives would be different if he hadn’t been strong. If he could go back in time and stay there in that happy moment forever, would he? Or would our superman still suffer through the kryptonite to keep the 3 of us together? The lonely nights, and a dark empty house. Was it worth the crying, and depression to see us all come out the other end victorious? Would he stay in that picture forever with genuine joy plastered across his face and us being little by his side or would he go through hell just to see my brother and I grow up?
Those where the dark days or our family but even though we all went through the same thing, it was different because we did it together. To this day it still amazes me how close the 3 of us are and how strong my dad really is. Those green eyes and that 1000-watt smile, top off the perfect person that will always be my hero.
