I'll start with my father. He was a great man. Charity and kindness were his assets. People in need were taken into our home. When the local super right wing newspaper reported on an event that involved a black man, he spoke up about the rabidly racist reporting, earning himself death threats from the local KKK and other hate groups. He was a perfect role model of husband. Caring, loving, respectful. It looked, at least from the outside, as a partnership. Never a battle. That is what my mother describes as well. As a father, he was patient, kind and never instilled fear. Good behavior was a natural consequence of his focus on character and integrity. He never cared what we were, what we wanted as long as we were the best people we could be. He treated boys and girls alike. Boys scrubbed toilets and cooked. Girls chopped wood and went fishing. When his son wanted to go into music, great! When his girl wanted to go into the military, well less great because of the risk, but sex was irrelevant. (She never did go into the military mush to his relief.)
The next great man I will mention is my husband. He is a lot like my father. You will see him quietly hand a sandwich to a homeless man on the street. You will see him chaperone a weekend trip so the disabled boy can go since his disabled Mom cannot take him. He is also a terrific model of husband. He fights fair, to solve, not to win. He seeks to understand *me* not to win or to get. You would never ever ever hear him say how do I get my wife to do x,y,z. You would hear him say, how do I make you feel safe, cared for and loved? (Which is why this wife will bend over backward to ensure he gets whatever his x,y and z are, incidentally.) As a father, he is terrific. Engaged and loving. He also treats boy and girl the same, teaching both to cook, do laundry as well as mow, chop, shoot and fish. He is fun, works hard.
There are many others I could mention. My brothers. Many of my friends.
What do the great men in your life look like?
The next great man I will mention is my husband. He is a lot like my father. You will see him quietly hand a sandwich to a homeless man on the street. You will see him chaperone a weekend trip so the disabled boy can go since his disabled Mom cannot take him. He is also a terrific model of husband. He fights fair, to solve, not to win. He seeks to understand *me* not to win or to get. You would never ever ever hear him say how do I get my wife to do x,y,z. You would hear him say, how do I make you feel safe, cared for and loved? (Which is why this wife will bend over backward to ensure he gets whatever his x,y and z are, incidentally.) As a father, he is terrific. Engaged and loving. He also treats boy and girl the same, teaching both to cook, do laundry as well as mow, chop, shoot and fish. He is fun, works hard.
There are many others I could mention. My brothers. Many of my friends.
What do the great men in your life look like?
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