Last week Chica Marie brought home a form inviting her to
attend “Donuts with Dads” at her school. She handed me the paper, crestfallen. “Mommy,
since I don’t have a daddy could I ask Primero to take me?” she suggested. The
paper said, in big bold letters NO FEMALES, so I know I couldn’t take her. I
suggested she ask Primero, but I was fairly confident he would decline to take
her. She never got a chance to ask him, since he wasn’t home for most of the
week last week. I had made mention of it to my mom, so she had my dad call me
and he agreed to attend. This morning he showed up bright and early to walk
Chica Maire to school. She was so excited to take him to school and show him
off to her teacher and friends. And, she was so excited to be able to participate
in the event. It was a beautiful bonding moment and an opportunity to offer simple
support to Chica Marie. I’m sure she won’t forget it.
Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.
That is so sweet and I am so glad your dad was able to take her so she could participate.
ReplyDeleteI am always surprised that nowadays with all the different ways families are that they have something that is so exclusive. “NO FEMALES” potentially leaves out so many people from participating. Both of my kids’ grandfathers are deceased, so if I was a single mom I wouldn’t have anyone that could fill that space. I get that maybe the school wants to promote male role models, but not everyone has one.
At my high school atbthe Father/Daughter dance, one classmate brought a teacher she was close with because her father wasn’t around, and another girl whose father passed away when she was a baby had to fight to have her mom there because her mom was the one that filled both the mother and the father roles for her.
The preschool my oldest went to had a “Special Person’s Day” in leu of a Dad’s or moms day and the child could bring any special person they wanted. I loved this idea because it was much more inclusive.
The paperwork stated a student could bring any male who was important to them, so in some way they tried to be as inclusive as possible. I do understand wanting to promote male role models but, if my dad hadn't been able to go, Chica Marie would not have been able to participate and that would have hurt her heart. It is hard for kids that don't have a readily available father to fulfill the role....
DeleteOh, that's really lovely. I just got a tear in my eye over it.
ReplyDelete