Revelations of the Daughta' of an Awesome Dad

Recently I read a blog post titled "5 Revelations of an Awesome Dad," and loved it. The blog writer, a father of 2 girls, explains how his point of view of little girls has changed over the years. (Check out the blog post here.) The post got me thinking about my own childhood, my own father, and how society has changed over the years…errr…decades.

I am grateful that I have a dad who is a benchmark for how men should behave. I have never had any idea other than that a man should treat me as a partner and an equal. By example, my dad showed me that a good husband:

• Loves his wife and treats her kindly
• Supports his wife in whatever endeavor she takes on (even if he doesn't understand her desire to suffer for a personal goal achievement like further education, endurance sports etc.)
• Takes on an equal amount of the household chores. I also learned that this doesn’t mean splitting each chore equally, but rather splitting the total of the work to be done. Each can gravitate to their interests or strengths, as long as the work is divided fairly.

My dad also taught me that it is ok to speak my mind. We faced off frequently, loudly, and often to the great unease of the rest of the family at the dinner table, but it taught me to argue back and to stand up for myself. And while he may not have actually enjoyed it in the moment, he never discouraged me from sharing my ideas or point of view. That has helped me greatly in my career and in life in general. My ideas may not all be the best, my opinions might not match those of other people, but they are mine, they have value, and I'm ok with that.

I am also grateful that the world is evolving so that:

• Fathers want to teach their daughters all the things they teach their sons. As the blog author says, "Everything I could do with a boy, I can do with my daughters. I can play basketball, teach them how to throw a punch, and play in the dirt."
• Girls choosing "boy" hobbies or Halloween costumes, or Boys choosing "girl" hobbies or Halloween costumes are more accepted
• I've seen many Facebook posts this year about boys who wanted to be Elsa for Halloween, or girls that wanted to be Spiderman. And their parents haven't put a stop to it, but have encouraged them to be their heroes and recognize the traits that make those characters heroes worth emulating.

Young girls, and probably boys too, struggle so much with defining who they are and who they want to be. Let's not make it more difficult by trying to force them into what we perceive as their roles. Rather, let's be role models by living according to our own strengths, callings and ideals.

So thank you, Dad, for all of the things you did that shaped me. I am who I am in large part because of what you showed me and because you allowed me to be me.