Week 4

We talked about gender specific roles. I think that mothers and fathers do or teach what they know. For example, dad did outside things. He knew how to cook, but he only did it when he wanted a specific thing or when mom was gone. Mom was the homemaker. She did the house upkeep, but she also knew how to garden, and she would help with the upkeep of the yard when she had the time. Helping outside for her was like taking a break from her everyday life. So growing up with parents that shared and were able to do most of what the other could as well taught us many things. The top half of the family is mostly boys and the bottom end are all girls. The chores whether they be "boy" or "girl" oriented, we each had the opportunity to do them. Dad had us helping on the cars with oil changes, rotating tires, or changing break pads. We learned how to edge, prune trees, mow lawns, and take care of the swamp cooler on the roof at a young age. We learned how to read recipes, cook, clean, iron, sew and many other things from mom as well. Just because the world sees them as gender specific roles doesn't mean that both genders can't do them. As a mother gets busy, a father will step in and help and vice verse. I think that it's important to know both gender specific roles, because when you lose a spouse you need to take care of all those things still. And we can also teach our children whether they be boy or girl to do the basic house upkeep and yard up keep or car maintenance when they are old enough.