Over the years, I've watched my daughter mature from preteen girl to car-driving teen, and she’s become quite the confident, intelligent, self-assured girl (young woman). My daughter rocks! (Proud daddy moment. Sorry.)
While I've raised her with tons of love and nurturing care, I never treated her with princess gloves, fearing that would hold her back. I'm a father who wants his daughter to kick-ass on her own strengths, rather than wait for a man to take care of her. (Note to Ann Coulter: I have nothing against men and women coupling up. Lord knows I'd love some feminine energy and regular sex in my life. I just want my daughter to know she can take care of herself.)
My ex has a similar attitude – that our daughter is better off if she’s confident enough to fend for herself. (My ex is someone else who kicks ass in that department.)
This means now that my daughter is driving, she doesn't turn to mom or dad for gas. She’s a responsible teen who buys her own fuel at the pump. Right?
By the time I was driving as a teenage boy, I had a fast-food service-industry job that gave me money for gas, movies, and cheap dinners out with my girlfriend. I never asked for hand-outs from my father or mother. (Okay, when I was down to my last dollar.)
My daughter knows this. So when we hit the gas pump in her hand-me-down car the other day, she pulled out her gas card, pronto.
“How low is your tank?” I asked.
“It’s pretty much empty,” she said.
“And how much money is on your gas card?”
“Six dollars.”
That would buy her a few gallons. Sheesh. She’s got plenty of time in life to learn to be self-reliant. I filled her tank on my credit card.
Sometimes a father’s daughter really is daddy’s little girl.
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