Re-calibrating your expectations

D&D 3rd edition article which does seem to inform a lot of old school players

http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/587/roleplaying-games/dd-calibrating-your-expectations-2

Something to consider:
Miz is able to produce miracles far beyond anything the typical person would ever experience in their lifetime. Miz can routinely bring the dead back to life. (Daria is only able to save Maru because Shiuske's magic and her willingness to use the shrine's greatest treasure: a 3rd level scroll.)

At level 6, characters are the "once in a generation" type of heroes. It is doubtful that most people you encounter will have ever met someone more proficient in each of your chosen disciplines.

From the common man perspective:
They braved the forgotten mines of escandoor
They freed a gnomish village from gnolls slavers in an ancient dwarven ruins
They faced a winter dragon and killed its wyrmlings
They lifted a curse of undying fiends from the brambles
They led a handful of farmers against a Tengu army.
They resqued the harvest brides from the altar of the spider god
They traveled to Whitehall and returned to tell the tale
They journeyed to the black tower and returned a dragon-lord from the endless abyss.

While I think some of those adventures might have a tinge of missed opportunity associated in your minds, from the general population perspective these are accomplishments of mythic proportions.