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Every now and then there comes a time as a daddy that you are put in a position to be bigger than life. A time when you can be a real honest to goodness superhero. A time when your little girl looks at you with a gaping mouth. Today I got a chance at one of those bigger than life moments.

They usually come along when you least expect them. I was mowing the lawn and the girls were playing in the sprinkler with the little boy who lives next door. They turned the sprinkler on and were taking turns trying to jump over the spray. As I walked by, my daughter asked me if I could jump over the water.

“Sure I can!” I reply, “I’m a daddy”

“Do it then” she says.

At this point I look at the water, which is shooting 5 feet high. The girls are looking at me, their friends are looking at me, I can’t just walk away. Superheroes don’t just walk away. I get back and size up the sprinkler. My daughter is looking at me with a look that said “Please don’t fail me in front of my friends.”

I could see that she was nervous, which made me nervous. I crouch down and start my approach. I leap into the air and, while one foot dragged through the water, the rest of me escaped unscathed. It happened so quick no one even noticed the wet foot.

The crowd erupted into joyous jubilation. My daughter was smiling, relieved that I had held up to my end of the bargain in front of her friends. After I was done, they all tried to jump over the water but failed. Of course they did, they aren’t bona-fide superhero graduates from the University of Daddy.

For the rest of the day I was bigger than life. Able to jump over tall sprinklers in a single bound. It should come as no surprise, really. After all, I am a daddy.