If we aren't careful, we'll soon be adding another animal to the endagered species list.
The manly man is in jeopardy, and guess what? It's our fault, ladies. Several years ago we started down the man-hatred path. We now blame them for everyvthing from the price of tampons to our need for hair dye. On top of that, we've decided the solution for all the problems they somehow caused is to fix them. And how are we going to fix them? Simple. By making them more like us. For the love of all things glitzy and girly, why on earth would we want them to be more like us? Sorry, ladies, but I like my men manly. Before you get your big girl panties in a wad, let me tell you that my mother raised me to never, never, never live my life in a way that would force me to rely on a man. Also, she was married to one of the most reliable men that ever walked the earth--my dad. He raised me to understand how a real man would treat his lady. So today, as I stood at the exit of the grocery store, watching the torrential rain and hail, I wished my man were with me because I know he would have braved the thunderstorm and pulled the car around for me. Now, did I need him to do that? No. Did I melt when I ran to the car myself? No. I did have to wring out my shoes when I got home, but after they dried, I replaced them on the cool, custom shoe shelf he made me for Christmas. (With his manly man, muscular hands.) I can't help it. I like a man to open a door for me and change the oil in my car and kill spiders. Yes, I can do all of those things myself, and I do. (Well, I hire the oil changed, by a man, because I don't want to do it. It's gross and messy. But, I do check the oil myself, if that counts.) But, it isn't an insult when a guy wants to get manly for his gal. It doesn't mean he thinks she can't do it herself. Think of it as his love language. Sometimes I feel sorry for my son. He's becoming a man in a society that has forgotten what that means. Even worse, they want to punish him for it. If he makes a pass at a girl who isn't interested, he's a creeper. If he's polite and friendly, he's a player. If he isn't, he's a jerk. If he notices a hot bod, he's a pervert. If he doesn't, he's gay. If he bulks up, he's a tool. If he doesn't, he doesn't get a date because girls can be shallow, too. I've always thought that when the man mows the lawn, and I make the meal, I got the better deal. Does that mean that he must mow and I have to cook? No. It means that if he wants to do something manly, let him. It means that I appreciate not only the freshly cut grass, but every single minute he spends in the gym. It means that if I get to enjoy his buff body, why shouldn't I give him something good to look at, too? It means that I love it when he gets the guys together for poker as much as I like wine night with my girlfriends. It means, in fact, that I have plenty of girlfriends, so I don't need him trying to be one of them. It means that I drool over memes of a shirtless Ryan Gosling, so he shouldn't have to not drool over Sofia Vergara's cleavage. And it means that we are hypocrits if we get angry when he does. So, today I call for the preservation of the manly man. Please, don't let him become extinct. I hope I am raising my son to be manly in just the same way my father was, and I don't want him to be alone in the universe. I mean, who would he invite to poker night? The truth is, we need the manly man more than we think we do. And we blame for a lot more than we should. Besides, on a cold, rainy night, at the end of a trying day, I could curl up with my cat and be perfectly happy. But I'd rather curl up with him. And maybe, in the morning, I'll let him make me blueberry pancakes. There is almost nothing sexier than a manly man making breakfast--even if I can do it better.
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AuthorDee Linn loves words. When she was in the third grade, her exasperated teacher told her she'd probably talk to a pole, if she happen to be sitting beside it. Not much has changed except that now she says it in writing. She is a single mom of four, a teacher of teens, a cheater at board games, and a lover of life. She's a Kansas girl, but travels to all kinds of places in her head with characters living there, some of which she's sure she's created. Some, she's not sure how they got there. But they are way more interesting to talk to than a pole. Archives
November 2017
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