It's Father's Day

Today is Father's Day. If this is news to you stop reading this post right now and go call your pops. In the spirit of the holiday, and having seen about a million posts on social media paying tribute to the big guy, I started thinking about what makes dads so special. I am lucky enough to have a dad who has always supported me and been there for me. I know he's always got my back.

He's my #1 fan!

I want to give a special shout out to all the fathers of the females in my generation. It's a well known fact that raising girls can be a challenge for any man but the dads of my generation have done more than just raise us, they have molded us. They told us we could be anything that we wanted to be when we grew up. Most of us were raised in a somewhat middle class house where dad went to work and mom stayed at home with the kids. But our dads told us that we didn't have to be just like mom when we grew up (much to my relief!) but that we could be like dad and be the ones with the career AND hold down the family. Our destiny, should we choose to pursue it, was to do more than cook, clean, and raise the children.

Women today celebrate their independence and take pride in being able to buy things for themselves and support their families. We work hard and we get to enjoy the rewards of our hard work. For better or worse dads, you are the reason the term 'sugar mama' can even exist, a generation ago a woman supporting a man would be unheard of! Our generation of women are challenging men to step up to the plate, to be better husbands, to do more than the stereotypical 'sit on the couch and drink beer and watch sports'. We no longer have to rely on a man to support us. Each day we're decreasing the pay gap that exists between mens and womens salaries. Women are graduating college at a higher rate than men, more women are taking over positions of power in major organizations, and it's all thanks to you dads.

Our generation of women is the first to grow up fully immersed in sports and you never told us we couldn't do something 'because you're a girl'. Even if you were secretly worried we would get hurt you let us play soccer, basketball, baseball etc and some of us were even lucky enough to have you volunteer your time as a coach and mentor. Yea we were never all that good, but the lessons we learned about hard work, competition, and dedication stuck with us throughout our lives. Sports like women's tennis and WNBA were founded by women whose fathers told them to dream big and never stop reaching for their goals, no matter what. Because of this we don't see our gender as a barrier to success.


Yea we didn't always listen to your advice; we wear our skirts too short, stay out too late, date all the wrong guys. But you have been a role model to us from day 1 dad. No one will ever replace you dad, but let's hope that the next generation of fathers, the ones who will someday be our husbands, can raise the high bar that you've set for the next generation of daughters.