When my oldest daughter was big enough to attend her first Daddy/Daughter event at church, I was beyond thrilled. She was about to get a special evening with the guy she loved the most. And I got to help her get ready! We had fun picking out her dress, curling her hair, and she was so excited to wear some of my lip gloss for the big event. If she ever elopes, I may have a broken heart!
Fast forward a few years and now two of my three daughters are able to participate in such events. My excitement for them has died down and I feel guilty for that change in my attitude.
As a mother of only girls, I’m realizing that special events for moms & daughters don’t seem to exist. Or if they do, I’m totally missing them! Please, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the Daddy/Daughter fun…but what about the other side of the coin? Sometimes I feel like we are in the minority with having kids of all one gender. Any other mommas feel this way too?
Every once in awhile I get an ache inside of me knowing that I don’t have a son to take to a Mommy/Son barbecue. I don’t have that love from a son that everybody talks about being so different from any other. I don’t understand that feeling, and I never will. But, that’s okay. My daughters bring me so much joy and I truly do LOVE having all girls. In no way am I wishing away their childhood, but I am so excited thinking about the day that they are grown up and our relationship changes to friendship.
But until then, where are the organized Mommy/Daughter tea parties? Or the Daddy/Son boat races?
I love this post! I grew up in a single parent home (though they didn’t officially divorce until I was a teenager) where my mom did everything for us, so Daddy/Daughter dances were completely out of the question (luckily, they weren’t as popular then as they are now), so I agree–there definitely needs to be more Mommy/Daughter or even non-specific gender events!
Because same sex parent/child bonding is organic. The same sex parent will always be the most influential parent. So dads and sons go fishing, or hunting, or play catch. And moms and daughters go shopping, have mani/pedis and do lunch. Those things happen ALL the time. Forging a bond between opposite gendered parents takes more effort (and this is painting with a broad stroke, I realize. But statistically is the truth the majority of the time.) So it seems redundant to organize events for a relationship that already has a leg up.