Tuesdays with Daddy – “That Blue One’s the Boy One…”

It’s funny to see how a child’s mind works, and how profound a simple statement can be.  Today, while walking through a gigantic multi-purpose store, my daughter spotted a rack of cheap summer-time rubber, bouncy balls.  You know the kind… they stack them from the floor to the ceiling, with all different colors.  The balls themselves are poorly made and wobble through the air because of the poorly designed air hole placement.  Regardless, she noticed that something was different about the balls in the rack.  She said, “That blue one’s the boy one, that pink one’s the girl one.”  I informed her that she was correct as we zoomed past the balls heading towards much more important things – the outdoor section.  As we continued on, she noticed lots of other toys that were specifically for boys and specifically for girls.

She had no idea what she was saying.  All she knew was that boys play with blue things, trucks, beasts and get dirty and that girls play with pink things, dollies, host tea parties and despise getting dirty.  This isn’t something we teach in our home, it is a natural instinct of a child.  (Yes, there’s a lot of pink in my house for my two daughters, and lots of dolls, stuffed animals, dress up clothing and tiaras.  However, there’s also toy cars, bats and balls, a fireman costume with ax and plenty of time to help Daddy around the house on various projects.)  It brings up a point that’s frequently mistaken in our society.  The point is that there’s a difference between men and women!  John Paul the Great, the late Pope, spoke often about men and women having “equal dignity, but different roles”.  It’s evident to children; maybe we need to return to a child-like way of living.  Innocence, simplicity and freedom.

The point isn’t about the color, although you won’t find me in a pink or purple shirt.  The point is that there’s a difference and as men, we must fulfill our role.  Women have a role that they were created for and we have a role we were created for.  When men fail to fulfill their role, women typically respond with an attitude of service and want to step in to fill a gap, but it’s not right for them to do so because it’s not what they were created for.  So men, live a life in relationship to what you were created for: provider, protector, leader.  More on this in the future.

Man up!