On Father’s Day, Elaine gave me, among other things, two sports movies. Like all guys, I like to watch sports, movies about sports, and muscle car auctions. Ha.

The movies were called “The Express,” which is about a college football player named Ernie Davis, and “42,” which is about Jackie Robinson. There was a term associated with these two movies that got me thinking. “Stepping into history.”

Jackie Robinson was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 and was the first black baseball player to play in professional baseball. Ernie Davis was given a scholarship to play for Syracuse University in 1958, and led Syracuse to the national championship in 1960. Ernie Davis was also the first black athlete to win the Heisman Trophy. Both of these young men stepped into history in their own way and in their own sport. History is full of people of all races that decided to do something that has never been done and to step into history.

I got to thinking about this term, stepping into history, and what it actually means. I have come away with several thoughts on the subject.

To your children at home, you are the hero and the history maker. They will remember how you loved them and went to the ballet recitals, dance classes, baseball games, and football games. They will remember the support you gave them growing up. Very few people will ever be a Jackie Robinson or Ernie Davis, but in our world we are leading our families into history, and we all want that history to be fondly remembered.

I was watching the US Open yesterday that was being played in Pinehurst, NC, and the guy that came in second was Eric Compton. Eric is a 34-year-old man who has had two heart transplants. Can you imagine? Well, yesterday he stepped into history. When I think of Pinehurst #2, I think of Payne Stewart, who won the US Open on Father’s Day 1999 and then in October of that same year, kissed his wife and kids goodbye and got on a plane that never got to where it was going. Payne Stewart stepped into history when he won the US Open, but he also stepped into history that October.

My point is that you don’t have to do great things and things that change the world, rather you just have to change your own world and be the example for your family to follow. Always, always hug and kiss your children, regardless of how old they are because you are making history and memories that will last a lifetime. You will never know what unconditional love will do for a child. It will help them and their children step into history and have that history be full of great memories. Every day you live and breathe, you are making a memory that will stand the test of time. Why not choose to be the best history teacher you can possibly be. KT