The article, The Myth of Co-Parenting, was a great article that depicts the story of a married couple going through co-parenting issues. I can relate to much of this article, not as me being a married relationship in which co-parenting issues are present, but as the child who witness such dilemmas. My mother walked out on my father, and two sisters and I after 15 years of marriage. I was only 9 at the time my mother left, yet many memories can still be recalled regarding my parents marital problems. Also, I grew up in Chile in the late 1980's and early 1990's- surrounded by a society who believed that women should stay at home and that men should provide monetarily, my mother had a different opinion. Unfortunately or fortunately, however you want to take it, my mother was a very independent woman and didn't think that women were to stay home and not work. My father didn't mind my mother working, but he did expect her to continue to carry out the duties at home. When I was four, my father came to the US looking for a chance to "make it big" and pursue the "American Dream". My mother was left in Chile with four girls, a full time job, and the responsibly of the housework. She dealt with it for several years, but made sure she made us aware of the little help my father provided. When my father asked her to bring us to the US, she finally had the opportunity to run away from a such a fruitless marriage. On August 1995, my mother dropped of my sisters and I at my father's house and left back to Chile. From that moment on, my father became a full time daddy with a full time job and a full time "motherly" role. I remember him working three jobs to support us three girls. My mother never returned until a few years ago...I'm in my twenties now and everything I learned about my life...my daddy taught me. 


From the moment I started to read The Myth of Co-Parenting, I realized that much of marriages go through the same sort of dilemmas. Different eras bring about newer issues in a relationship such as co-parenting roles- yet, marital stories are always much of the same and sound very much alike. Like in my family, the woman in the article wanted to work and share the co-parenting responsibilities. My mother too wanted support and found none like in the story. Like the man in the article, my dad also wanted to build a better future for his family and failed to identify the sacrifices he was making. Yet, this story ends much different than that of my parents. This story has a happy ending in which things magically work themselves out. The woman in the story has not fully reached her goal, but is more than content that things improved enough for some co-parenting to take place. The End. The end to that story anyway. 


Fortunately for my generation, mid-twenties, women have grown up with certain principles of independence ingrained in our minds. Much of the male population recognizes that women have other goals in mind...the goal to be just as equal as men and do as they do. We pursue careers, desirable employment positions, advocate for our gender and other critical issues, we are more and involved in making a difference with our careers than ever before. Men, without a choice, I believe are learning and accepting this principle. Ironically for me, I was raised a very independent woman earning a more than decent amount of money a year when I decided to become a full time house wife and full time student. It was never the agreement that I would be responsible for all of the household duties after resigning from my full time job. However, when I started school and began a new career, I felt very grateful that my future husband was allowing for the opportunity for me to seek a degree. Without much thought, I began to care of the house and all of the responsibilities involved. I would have never imagined five years ago that I would have the opportunity to earn a degree from a University. My father raising three girls never had the chance to send us to college, but thanks to my fiancee, I would be able to attend school after all. I never would have imagined either that I would be taking care of a house and learning how to cook. Well, I cook every night now, clean the house once a week, take as many classes as possible, and take care of everything house related. In return, my fiancee takes care of the finances. All of this makes me giggle a bit, I was definitely grown up to think that women should strive for power even after being raised by a man... yet, I still ended up being submissive in my role as a women in the relationship. Lucky for me, the understanding that once school is done for me, that things will return to being 50/50 is still very firmly in place in my relationship. My desire to achieve great things and be a successful women in my profession is stronger than ever.


Overall, I think no matter how much society changes, some things stay very much the same. There's much we can learn from our parent's relationships and mistakes. Yet, our society has been shaped to give women the deserving right to strive in anything they set their minds to, and although things are not yet 100% equal between men and women...things are very well on their way.