There may be one male teacher at my daughter’s elementary school, not including the principal. I was recently informed that at one 
particular public high school in our school system, 80 percent of the students belong to single-parent households. Guess which gender is raising the kids alone? While I wasn’t smart enough to appreciate it while I was younger, my Dad was an essential component of my upbringing. My Mom’s role seemed more visible, sure, but my Dad’s filled in the gaps. If Mom taught me patience, a sense of identity, the space to cry, Dad gave me the backbone, the safety net, to work it all out in the real world. It’s lineage runs from him, through me, and on to my daughters–I hope.
particular public high school in our school system, 80 percent of the students belong to single-parent households. Guess which gender is raising the kids alone? While I wasn’t smart enough to appreciate it while I was younger, my Dad was an essential component of my upbringing. My Mom’s role seemed more visible, sure, but my Dad’s filled in the gaps. If Mom taught me patience, a sense of identity, the space to cry, Dad gave me the backbone, the safety net, to work it all out in the real world. It’s lineage runs from him, through me, and on to my daughters–I hope.For those who are trying every day, for those who are showing up, for those who jump gleefully into the daddy breach (yippee-ki-yay!) I say Happy Father’s Day.
