Or so Andiclaus feels the need to tell anyone willing to listen. Since sometime late in college, Andrés has told Anthony, "I'm watching you" anytime he and I spent any amount of time together.

And that was pretty frequently. Aside from my husband (and maybe my brother-in-law, too), Anthony is the best friend I made in college. He's one of the only people we continue to be in contact with and he's certainly the only person who's made the trip to Kansas City to see us. He's Alliclaus' godfather. There're a million reasons to love him.

The whole thing is quite funny, mostly because Anthony and I could NEVER be together. He's so...good. Aside from my girl-next-door kind of appearance, I am nothing he wants in a girl. He's very moral and conservative. Can you even imagine?

Anyway, we sent Anthony a valentine (LATE!) and, as per his usual, he responded with a strange and wonderful card of his own.

It's a Girl's Day card. He rightly assumed that Girl's Day cards are not so prevalent around these parts. (Anthony lives on Oahu.) Girl's Day was March 3, so Alliclaus and I narrowly missed our opportunity to dress up and eat mochi, but you can be damn sure we won't miss it next year! In the card he also thanks us for being awesome. To that, I can only say, "You're welcome."

I probably wouldn't have mentioned Anthony or Girl's Day, except that today is International Women's Day. I've read the articles and I have to say, I'm not totally sure how one is meant to celebrate International Women's Day, so I've decided to just say a few things about what I think it means to be a mother of a daughter.

For me, raising a daughter is an incredible task. How can I express to her the importance of continuing the work of feminism without stifling her creativity in choosing her own path towards fulfillment? How do I make sure that she is grateful for the women who fought for the freedoms she enjoys, even if sometimes she doesn't agree with their ideologies? How do I make it clear to her that the feminist experience is only one of many experiences she will have as an outsider to mainstream American society, while not diminishing its importance?

Right now, it isn't too hard. I try to show her that Andiclaus and I have a partnership in our family. That I am empowered not only to work, but to stay home and to continue my education. I think, though, that before too many more years have come and gone, that I'll have to be more intentional if I want her to have a rich experience of the world as a girl and woman.

I do not presume that raising a boy is any less difficult. It is not, however, a task that I am tackling right now. I am curious to know how other mothers of daughters (and sons) see their roles as women in parenting.