I was listening to The Daughters by Little Big Town and it reminded me of Bailey and the image Aiden had of her. The lyrics mirror how Aiden wanted Bailey and Camila to be.
“Girl, don’t be weak but don’t be strong
Say what you want, just as long
As you nod your head with your lipstick on
And pose like a trophy on a shelf
Dream for everyone , but not yourself
I wash the dishes, feed the kids, and clean up all this mess
Do my best, forgive myself, and look good in this dress
Damn, I look good in this dress”
Bailey had no life outside the home, she gave up her job to be a housewife as Aiden wanted. The author gave her a meaningless job so the choice was easy. Aiden said Bailey considered her family as her job. She was the most forgiving person he knew. In his dream, Bailey said all she ever had to give him were children. Notice he never once contradicted her, he only said he was sorry for being a bad father. Bailey was the heart of the family and she dreamed for them, never for herself. Even Camila came around to Aiden’s idea of how a woman should live for her family, let the man have the last say in what to do.
Let’s do away with antiquated ideas of how a woman should behave. A strong woman can have a family, career and self esteem at the same time. A woman is more than a baby incubator, Aiden never told Bailey this until it was too late and she was determined to give him his daughter so their family would be complete like he always wanted.