Unique gifts

Many women struggle with our relationships with our parents. I suppose we get along best with the parent that is most like ourselves. My father and I have always had a challenging relationship. Once I left the "daddy's girl" stage I think he felt truly lost when dealing with me. Those of you who know me well won't be surprised if I say that I wasn't an easy child. I questioned everything and everyone and didn't believe in following traditional roles. I joined a flag football team (the only girl) and proceeded to have the crap kicked out of me in practice by my teammates. I got that message and moved on to soccer. At one point in adolescence my father told me that I didn't need to learn how to drive as my husband would be driving me around. I finally earned my license at the advanced age of 24 (still not married).

End result was more rebellion and more conflict. One thing we aren't great at in my family is expressing our feelings (except anger, we are pretty solid with anger). So giving compliments is something you didn't do or expect to receive. This has always frustrated me because I have never told my dad how proud I am of his gifts. He works with his hands and although you couldn't tell him this, he is an artist in his own way. He worked as a millwright for 20+ years and has an innate understanding of machinery. One of the last people I could have ever imagined retired, has produced a work of art as a "project". He was asked to reconstruct a horse pulled wagon for his brother. I think that the pictures say more about my father's artistry than I ever could.