Traditional Dad
Woman in the Middle | June 18, 2012I was born in 1961 and I had a very traditional dad. He did the yard work while my Mom did the inside housework. The only time (or at least almost the only time) he cooked was over a grill. He took care of the cars. He paid the mortgage. My mom bought the groceries…anyway, you see how it was. But the one way he wasn’t traditional was in his plans and expectations for me. He expected me to go to college and told me I could be any thing I wanted to be. He did not put any restrictions on my future because I was a woman. I am very grateful for that. Because of that I have a bachelors and a masters. I have worked in fields where I was often only women in the room. They say that girls need a dad in so many ways. In my experience I can see why.
My girls are very lucky that they have a dad who also encourages them to do what they want, regardless of their gender. That is why one plans to be a high school English teacher and the other plans on being a mechanical engineer. Obviously, in our house we like to cover the gambit of possible careers!
A belated Happy Father’s Day to all of the wonderful dads out there, including the ones in my life!
My dad is like yours. He encourages me to be whatever I want to be (even at 45) and he was very traditional when I was growing up. In fact, he was so traditional that he never cooked or grilled!