The Relationship Hero

I am looking for relationship heroes.  What do I mean by a “relationship hero?” The term came to me while reading a story about a heroic venture; I realized that there might also be heroic relationships.

To me, a relationship hero is someone who holds their relationship in such high regard that people are touched when they hear about it. The greater the willingness to be open, honest, transparent and vulnerable, the more heroic you are to me.

Instead of celebrating heroic relationships, we find entertainment in celebrities’ break-ups, scandals, affairs, and speculations about prominent actors and actresses being gay.

Enough already. Why is this even our business? Don’t we have anything better to do than read about other people’s confusion and pain?  It’s basically the same old stories over and over again.  I don’t care if Brad and Angelina had a fight over which baby powder to buy.  Please!

Reading about Captain Sullenberger, on the other hand, was inspirational to me. The things his family said about him were always loving and moving. He consistently received standing ovations from the public, and his wife was so touched by the spontaneous outburst of feeling that she sobbed. They go running together, are active in dog-and-cat-rescues; their relationship sounds brilliant, devoted, the American dream, if you will. It’s refreshing to see the tabloids celebrating a relationship’s success instead of exploiting a failure.

Today I got an email from Maria, a woman I wrote about several months ago. The way she described her relationship made me think she’s a relationship hero. She was honest in the face of difficulty, and she met her challenge with honesty.

So what about you—who are your relationship heroes? Are you one?