On a chilly morning, we went to the park to toss around a baseball. That's what we do. That's our thing. The three of us fan out across the diamond and throw back and forth. After a while, we went across the street for ice cream... just me and the boys and our cookies and cream.
As we ate ice cream and watched a dad with a couple of little girls walk in... girls around the same age as my boys. And we got to talking, the boys and me. I told them I know they might not like them now, but one day, they'll think girls are pretty cool. And I told them it's important above all to respect those girls. Don't talk down to them. Don't demean them. I told them the girls can do anything they can. They are the future women of the world. They are just as smart, they are just as athletic, they are just as strong. They can be president or an astronaut or a Fortune 500 CEO just like the boys. They are beautiful, but don't need to be defined by their beauty. They are pretty incredible. Conclusion: Girls rule. Boys drool.
OK, I didn't say that last part. Actually, I need to confess that I didn't say any of it. Truthfully, I don't have boys. None. Zero. I have two girls. I'm the dad with those other girls who walked in. But I've often wondered what it would be like to have sons and what I would say to them. And interestingly, the things I would want to teach my boys about girls are the things I've learned and embraced and realized in the process of raising my own girls. It's a conversation I'm already having with my daughters... and continue to have with them every day. By the way, girls play catch too. And they know never to let a boy dictate who she is or how she should feel or why she is going to be a superstar one day in whatever path she chooses.
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