Dads, Daughters, and Dreams
Welcome guest blogger – Becky Robinson.
It’s almost bedtime, and my daughters are splashing in the bathtub, all three of them squeezed together.
I’m sitting nearby, and we’re talking about dreams for the future. The girls and I have talked about dreams before (Little Girl Dreams), but it’s been a while, and I’m curious to hear what they might say.
My middle daughter chimes in: “I want to marry a man just like Daddy, and I want to have four daughters.” She starts to list off the names she’s chosen for each of her daughters and I find myself thinking that as I talk to my daughters about dreaming, even though I might ask them about career dreams, their dreams really start at home.
It’s something I have struggled with as the mother of daughters. What hopes and dreams should I have for them? Do I encourage them to dream of marriage and family? Do I, instead, invite them to consider what careers they might pursue? Do I steer them toward the shore — and creating a safe harbor for their families? Or do I launch them as ships into the big, wide world? But I want to be a Harbor.
The girls keep splashing, and chattering about how they want to marry a man just like their daddy. He is heroic in their eyes – and strong. He listens to them, and disciplines them, and snuggles them, and makes them feel loved, and special, and pretty.
And that makes me happy, because I know that together, my husband and I are creating a safe harbor for our girls, a place from which they can grow and dream, because all dreaming begins at home.
More on Dreams:
My friend, Whitney Johnson is also writing about Dads, Daughters, and Dreams this weekend.
Her book Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream has been a great source of inspiration to me. Download a free chapter.
Author:
Becky Robinson is the owner of Weaving Influence , a social media consulting and implementation business specializing in connecting authors to online audiences.
Encouraging every dream is fantastic. They will figure out the balance as they grow.
Love the post, I can relate being a mother of three beautiful adult children now. It just seems like yesterday that I was sitting by the tub talking to them as they bathed.
Great article…
My daughter is 14 and a half. We’ve had many conversations about her hopes and dreams.
In the quiet of the night, my prayers for her life is simply that she:
– Be loved unconditionally…just as I love her
– Love others unconditionally
– Follow her heart rather than her bank account
– Show grace, compassion, and kindness
– Help those in need and pain
– Take personal responsibility for her life
– Laugh often
Great post. Very inspiring words for all of us. Great checklist Robb. Sounds like advice we all should follow. 🙂
Excellent post, especially for Fathers Day. To me, simply listening to the dreams of your daughters, asking what’s important to them, is a gift like no other. So many children don’t have a listening ear like that and I’m sure your support means so much to them no matter what the future holds.
i m intereseted to read more,some simple writing that is touchingable ..felt like it was telling about my self in. i m proud of my Dad,as a daughter has been adult i wish i can make him happy in his life,he was older and being older. yeah..the only idol of my life.
I think it is our job to paint pictures for our children, to give them ideas of what is possible, to open their eyes…and encourage them to understand, they can become whatever they can imagine. And because our imaginations are limited by our own experience, if we can just give them a few new pictures of life and let them make their own choices.
Mine is 3 and half, I sometime talk to her of dreams – whatever just making conversation. She is still a little gril I agree with all dreams start at home, where is the most safety place she can grow.