Q&A Forum - Best of Elise

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Naturally, another great female role model in my life is my wife. She is also a product of the 1950's where good Catholic girls were expected to follow in their mother's footsteps: graduate high school, get a job as a secretary, bank teller or nurse (my wife is the latter), get married, and procreate more Catholics.

It was my wife's father who had the larger impact on her life. He had three daughters and encouraged them to be active in sports. When my wife came in from the street dirty and scarred from playing stickball with the boys (she was a powerful hitter), he'd ask how many hits she got. He also insisted that each of his girls get an education. All three of them went on to college.

The final female role model in my life is my older sister. As older siblings go, she wasn't too bossy. She was a very active girl and would be constantly in trouble if my parents didn't keep close tabs on her. As a result, I got to do a lot of things while my parents were distracted by her.

I wound up marrying a woman who was very independent. It gives me great pride and comfort that she is perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but chooses to put up with me. She is aggressive, but not dominant. Some men with whom she has worked asked me, "How do you put up with her?" to which I respond, "I seem to be man enough to handle her."