Theodora Stolz, a psychologist, knows the
importance of the relationship between a parent and child, whether it is a
mother or a father, or a genetic parent or an adoptive one. And she says that
her own father has been the greatest influence on her life, one that she is
eternally grateful for.
"My personality, I feel, was formed by
my dad," she says. "He taught me to be strong, told be I was bright,
talked politics and respected me; but also encouraged the feminine in me. He
took me to a Chinese restaurant as a special treat and got pretzels and egg
cream from the candy store, sang me to sleep, told me I was beautiful, but also
taught me how to play baseball basketball and be strong."
As a licensed psychologist, Theodora Stolz
understands the importance of such an influence, and she is able to detach her
emotions and view the matter with a practiced eye. Fathers, she says, can
provide their daughters – and their sons, too, of course – with an all-important
sense of safety and stability. But they are also able to guide them through the
sometimes rapid waters of modern life, simply by being a loving male role
model.
Theodora Stolz
psychologist, knows that her father did the
very best he could in raising her. But he may not have been fully aware of what
a positive influence he was being, since it was not intentional but was simply
the act of a loving father doing everything he could for the daughter he loved
so much. And Theodora Stolz says she is eternally grateful for this. "I
owe my survival to him, and thank him every day."
