Paint it Pink

There are no gender roles in our home. I do not cook. I do not clean. In the words of Rhett Butler "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." When company is coming for a Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving, or an Easter dinner then I give a damn. I light the Yankee Candles which give off the appropriate scent for the season and I clean. But otherwise, my house is where I live. It is not a showroom. My husband does most of the cleaning. He vacuums, does dishes, and laundry as well as most of the cooking. My son, as all little boys do, wants to be like his father. He loves his vacuum and his broom. Toy companies have not realized the times are a changing as almost every vacuum and broom are covered in Minnie Mouse. Meaning they are mainly pink.

My son's favorite toys are a broom and a toy swiffer which we tell him is a vacuum. I searched locally at department stores for a neutral non-pink vacuum and broom. They were not available. I could order them off Amazon for a semi inflated price and pay shipping costs. I chose not to because I came across a deal at Marshall's around Easter time. It was a cleaning cart set consisting of a broom, swiffer, and a little fake spray bottle. It was all pink, hot neon pink. At $12.99, I wasn't passing it up. 

Friends come over and see the little cleaning cart. The question is always the same. "Why does your son have a pink broom set?" 

"Because he loves to use his broom and vacuum," is always our answer. This is why he loves it so much. 

Daddy vacuums. He wants to be like his Dad. He mimics the roles he sees his father play. Cleaning is not a woman's role in our home, and if it was well..it would never get done with the exception of holidays.  We have had the next advice handed to us on more than one occasion. 

"You can always paint his broom. They make spray paint that will cover the pink."

My answer is "he doesn't know pink is a girl color. And it's his broom, I wouldn't change it." His pink broom is one of his most beloved items. Changing the color is showing him at the age of 18 months, he is not allowed to play with pink toys. He can play with pink, purple, blue, yellow or any color of toy he chooses to play with. They are his toys. If they make him happy, I won't change them. We are not defined by the color of our toys. A pink broom doesn't make him less of a little boy.

 When I was a little girl, I wanted to be the first girl to play in Major League Baseball. I would go out every day and practice mainly by myself. And everyone said "you can't play baseball, you are a girl." And I believed them. They were wrong. 

A girl can be whatever she chooses whether it is a ballplayer, a writer, a mechanic, or anything in which she devotes the time and effort into learning. A boy can sweep the floors. He can be happy in doing chores which were once labeled a 'woman's job.' A woman's job ended when she left the house, got a job, and contributed to providing to her family. 

A man is not less of a man because he assumes household chores. He is a damn fine catch. I will never paint your broom, baby boy. I will, however, take it away when you hit windows and glass after I repeatedly tell you to stop. But your pink broom is your broom. It's just a broom, the color never mattered anyways.  Seeing your face light up because you could be like your Daddy is the only feeling that ever truly mattered to me.