Recent calls from the daughter

You reap what you sow, Pam. If she calls you one to three times a day, and apparently her father as well, she isn't really "away" at school, is she? And do you dock yourself when she calls you at work? And would this be such a Hallmark moment if she was a son?

I've always believed that, as parents it is our job to teach our children to be independent and make good decisions, even if it means they only call once a week, and don't ask my opinion on every little thing.

"Aren't daughters great?" KB, this is precisely why we may never have a woman president.

Sounds like you and your daughter are very close, Pam. With cell phones and email, it is much easier these days to keep in touch with loved ones who are far away. Communication seems like a very good thing to me. Whether in a family or in a government, keeping the lines of communication open strikes me as vitally important. Maybe, that's precisely why we SHOULD have a woman for president.

Oh, and good morning, Ol Hippie.

Good morning daisy. I didn't mean anything by my comment; just an observation. I'll bet that in my life, a full 60% of all females I've ever known spoke to their mothers at least once a day. That is compared to less than 10% of the males I've known. I don't know if that is good or bad; it just seems that boys are still groomed for success, and girls are still groomed to please, and later take care of, their mothers.

All that I'm saying is that there is still a major double standard of acceptable behavior for men and women. I think that is unfortunate, as I agree that we'd be much better off if we lived in a matriarchal society.

Ouch, Mr. Hippie...

I call my mom every morning and will probably be doing this for a looooooong time...wouldn't trade it for the world:) This list put a smile on my face...

I think there's nothing wrong with a child calling their parent as frequently as is comfortable for both parties. I actually talk to my mom maybe once a week, and we live barely 30 minutes apart (I'm in NYC and she's in NJ). Yet, my boyfriend can't let a day go by where he hasn't called both of his parents (he's in NYC and his parents live upstate but also work in the city).

Maybe it's just because of the way I was raised, but I don't think that we necessarily groom women to be more clingy to parents than women. And as long as we're talking about double standards, why would it be okay for a daughter to call home to mom frequently, but if a guy does it there's this huge fear that he's nothing more than a blubbering mama's boy?! The double standard swings both ways.

But bottom line...the "socially acceptable" amount of calls someone should have with their parents is entirely relative to your own family dynamics and the way you were raised. What's right for me may not work for you and so forth.

Exactly, Miss bigapple!

And, as my friend kathybelle mentioned to me on the phone today - Only a women could run the country while talking to her mom on the phone.

I am not sure I understand what this list had to do with a woman's ability to be president, OH.
Women are genetically engineered to multi-task. Its unlikely they would let a daily talk with mom interfere with homeland security. And I suspect...but don't know...Jimmy and Bill spoke often with their mamas. :-)

Our daughters - one I speak with daily, the other weekly. They are both independent - professionally and emotionally - but they are different individuals and need different amounts of space.
My husband eats lunch with his mom everyday.
A man who speaks to and shows his mother consideration and appreciation is going to be a better husband and father. If there is a double standard for men it is most likely put there by an insecurity of either gender.

I know Ms. Bri. She has studied in Europe, and will be interning in Philadelphia. She is an independent, bright, decisive and strong willed young woman. I like what bigapplestyle said about family communication -
To call or not to call - its "relative to your own family dynamics."

KB, my comments had absolutely nothing to do with my views on a woman's ability to be President; I am currently supporting a woman for President. It may have had something to do with a woman's ability to be elected President; not the same thing.

I read the list, counted the calls to Mom, added the calls to Dad, and observed that 14 calls in 7 days is a frequency that is not at all unusual for women, but pretty much unheard of for men.

I also observed that Dad was the pragmatist, wanting to keep it real and fix everything, while Mom was the comforting nurturer.

It made me wonder how much stereotypical "man as head of the household," "woman as nurturer" conventions might be subliminally contributing to Mrs Clinton's trouble finding traction.

Yo Mr. Hippie,
It's 8:30 on a Wednesday. I haven't heard a single peep from our little chick and I'm going to bed, so she is out of luck if she does call. Just letting you know that she can manage a day quite well without calling mom.

Either that, or she is in jail and didn't use the one phone call to call home...

I like yellow myself, but blue is nice too. :-D