(I posted this on Father's Day three years ago but it's still appropriate today, as the role of the father is evolving --for the better in my mind--every year.)
In 1911, when my mother was born, the father was a god-like figure who
occasionally came down from Mount Olympus to offer criticism, praise and
advice.
[Image]
(My mother is on the far right in the back row. In addition to the seven
girls in the family, there were two older boys. My grandmother, Anna
Truan Dobson is holding her ninth and last baby, who was born when Anna
was 49 and her hair had turned completely white. The father, Frederick
Fee Dobson, was a Presbyterian minister in Oswego, Kansas.)
[Image]
In the 1940's, when I was born, the father would come home from work and
sit in his favorite chair with his scotch on the rocks and read his
newspapers, and he was not to be disturbed until dinner time when he
presided over the dinner table.
[Image]
In the 1970's, when my kids were born, the father was more hands on, but
not to the point where he ever changed diapers, took a kid to the park,
or knew the names of his children's friends or teachers.
[Image]
But our granddaughter Amalia, born in 2011, has the benefit of the
current breed of father, who is hands-on from the moment of birth. He
changes diapers and makes breakfast and gives baths and Amalia knows a
father is also for :
[Image]
Going down the slide together and
[Image]
Dancing on the patio together and
[Image]
Looking for fish and dolphins together and
[Image]
Feeding giraffes together and
[Image]
Holding you up in the water and
[Image]
Playing horsey and
[Image]
Admiring your artwork and
[Image]
Walking to the park together and
[Image]
Singing in the park together.
[Image]
And grandfathers, whether or not they changed diapers in their younger
days, are for telling you a story every day, even if they have to do it
by phone or by Skype.
"The Changing Role of Fathers Through the Decades"
No comments yet. -