Boys & Girls

Today as I was painting Harley's finger nails I was thinking about how grateful I am to have a little girl.  When I was pregnant with her I told my mom that I didn't really care if she was a girl or a boy and I meant it. I knew it was my last baby and I knew how to deal with boys.  I think I was actually a little afraid of having a girl.  The hair, the accessories, the hormones but I couldn't have been more wrong.  Look at the way she blows on her nails to get them dry.  She is a joy and nothing could be more fun than watching the way her daddy loves her. While a bit of a tom boy she is still fundamentally different than her brothers.  She came to this earth that way.  Just as the boys came to earth, for lack of a better word, boyish.  

At lunchtime I was standing in line at McDonald's ordering her a Happy Meal.  She insisted on the Star Wars toy, so I indicated to the cashier that I wanted a boy toy for her.  The woman behind me made a comment that she was annoyed that McDonald's created gender specific toys-why not just let our kids be who they are going to be.  She went into a tirade about how society pushes girls and boys in specific directions and she found that unacceptable. Miraculously, I kept my mouth shut even though I couldn't disagree with her more.  I feel like society is doing the exact opposite.  Instead of celebrating womanhood and manhood we are degrading it.  Women are considered weak, lazy and codependent if they don't do everything-raise a family, work full time, change the oil, fix the toilet and all of the other stuff that was once considered the man's responsibility. While, men are being dumbed down on television and are portrayed as being of little to know value to women or children other than their DNA contribution at conception.  Look, I am all for equal rights but come on! It is okay that men and women are different. We have different strengths, different abilities that are inherent to our nature.  That has never been more apparent than watching my boys and girl grow up.  The differences between males and females make life easier for both genders. For example, Friday we took Harley to the doctor. I knew she had an ear infection.  While, I was waiting for her prescription to be filled Scott went to Home Depot to get graphite powder for Atley's Pine Wood Derby car. I mentioned to him how glad I was that we were different. He would have never taken Harley to the doctor, probably wouldn't even notice the way she tugged on her ear and I would have never successfully or happily completed a Pine Wood Derby Car. Could we both learn to fill the role the other plays in our family? Of course, but together we do it much better.  My point is, I am glad I have both genders. I am thankful for their differences and while I believe there is value in a boy learning to cook and a girl learning to change a tire I hope they never feel that one task or one gender is more important than the other.