I think congress ought to just go ahead and declare Super Bowl Sunday National Man Day.
I mean it pretty much is already anyway.
What’s more manly than a day filled with football?
Dirt, sweat, grunting, full body contact.
And that’s just making sure the surround sound is hooked up and working right.
Why do you need surround sound to watch football? It’s not like you can hear the football as it whirls past the head of the wide receiver and gets intercepted by the offense.
(I get one point each for the three football terms used above.)
When I got up at 6:30 yesterday morning there was already Super Bowl coverage on TV.
TWELVE HOURS before kick off!
It probably started at mid-night.
Every woman in America knows that Super Bowl Sunday is the one day of the year that there is not a single chance, even if pigs did fly and hell froze over, that you are going to gain control of the remote. In fact I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t even dare ask. It’s just sort of an unspoken rule that on this day we women-folk cease nagging, forget about the honey-do list, take the trash out ourselves and let the men-folk sit and watch sports all day long.
Meanwhile, we busy ourselves making man-food like nachos, and burgers and things smothered with bacon and cheese. Food that, on any other day, you’d tell him he couldn’t eat, because it’s going to kill him and he’s not going to have a heart attack and leave you all alone to raise the children and shovel the driveway!
It’s only fair.
We girls pretty much have a monopoly on the other holidays.
Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter — all the elaborate menu planning and gift buying is right up our alley. Valentine’s Day and Sweetest Day are really all about us too. Mother’s day, definitely our day.
There is Father’s Day, but it only serves a small part of the male population.
But Super Bowl Sunday — that’s all-inclusive regardless of age or parental status.
Even my four-year-old son was running around yelling about, “The biggest football game ever!”
I actually don’t mind watching the Super Bowl. I find a good game of football entertaining now and them. There’s all the pageantry with the the opening ceremony and half-time. And the commercials always provide some comic relief. But I know I just don’t enjoy it with the same intensity as my husband.
Well, maybe if the Bears made it to the Super Bowl again…
So to guys everywhere I raise my glass of Velveetta.
I hope you all had a very happy Man Day.
A few weeks ago I posted about the 1930′s Marital Rating Test that caused a sensation all over the web when Monitor on Psychology from the American Psychological Association put it on their site. Well, now you can take the entire test on-line here, and find out how you’d rate 80 years ago. I did manage to get a superior score, but missed very superior by 7 points. Mostly due to my penchant for wearing pajamas, I think. Anyway, it’s good for another chuckle. Men can take the husband’s test too.
Guys sure get a bad rap these days.
Turn on the TV and you see husbands and fathers portrayed as bumbling fools. If not idiots, they’re cheating womanizers or perverts. The news is all about the latest lover-turned-killer who murdered his girlfriend and stuffed her in an ice chest. Women’s magazines are filled with article after article about how men are trying to keep us down by keeping us under-paid and on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder. There’s all kinds of talk about how they can’t multi-task, can’t be emotionally open, can’t clean up after themselves. The current pop-movement wants them to be less masculine, telling them to wear pink shirts and get a manicure. And there must be a zillion books on How To Change your Man.
Are men all really that bad? We’ve been pre-occupied with them since our early teens. Until we got married, a lot of our focus was on figuring out how to get one for ourselves. Now that you’ve got one, you, hopefully, spend some time trying to keep him. If men were really so intolerable would we expend so much energy on them? Even Gloria Steinem, the ultimate feminist, finally gave in and got one.
Granted there are a few men out there who could use a little grooming. And yes, a couple of them are psychotic ax murders who will kill you in your sleep. Maybe you has to pass over a few that weren’t a good fit before you found a keeper. But I think, generally, men deserve a break.
Let’s reconsider the qualities that society has deemed undesirable.
They’re not bumbling fools. They just still know how to have fun. Why do the kids go running to the door every night when Dad comes home? Because Dad will wrestle with them on the floor and tickle them until they’re delirious. Is there anyone besides your husband who makes you laugh more? Life would be pretty dull with out their sense of fun.
Sex-crazed no, but most men do put a higher priority on bedroom activities then most women. If it weren’t for his constant attempts to direct your attention to other things besides housework, career and children where would sex fall on the to-do list? Somewhere on the bottom, between cleaning the ceiling fan and dusting the wood work probably.
I’m not going to say inequity in the work-place doesn’t exist. I’ve experienced it first hand. But you can’t blame every man in the world for a deeply ingrained, societal problem that’s much bigger than the individual.
It’s true, they don’t multi-task well. But they can focus on a project and complete it to perfection because they aren’t trying to do too many things at once. How many times have your burned dinner because you were blogging, watching Oprah, folding laundry and talking on the phone too?
Thank goodness men aren’t as open with they’re emotions as we are! When crisis strikes somebody has to keep it together. You can’t both dissolve into tears and hibernate on the couch with a package or Oreos. (Why did they come out with a re-sealable Oreo bag? As if they last long enough to be re-sealed.) If you ask gently and make it O.K. to be vulnerable, they open up eventually.
Guys use a lot more common sense and reasoning then we do. They don’t clean up because the mess isn’t a mess to them. If there’s still one clean plate in the cupboard, why wash the rest? If the clothes are dirty, why does it matter where you put them? That common sense goes well with being less emotional. They’re better at making unbiased, fact-based decisions.
Do you really want your husband to be less manly? Don’t you want someone brave and strong to carry out the dead mice? Would you want to share the bathroom with a guy who spent more time on his hair than you did? Be honest, aren’t you at least a little attracted to the swagger and bravado?
If you think that the stereotypes and bashing don’t bother the men you know, you’re wrong. It’s demoralizing, insulting and the reason why a lot of guys today are confused and disillusioned about the role they should play in the family. How can you do your job when all you get are mixed messages and criticism about how inadequate you are who you should be?
Find your husband, your brother, you son, and tell then how much you appreciate all the unique qualities they bring to the table. Let them know their unique skills and perspective bring balance. Most of all let then know you love them unconditionally for who they are, men!
So I have two things for Girl Talk this week. First I’m going to do a little show and tell and talk shamelessly about myself.
Honey Can you Turn that Down? The House is on Fire!
This is what I look like when I have my contacts in.
But I rarely wear my contacts now. There was a time I wouldn’t be seen in public with my glasses on. I still had silly adolescent insecurities about being a four-eyes. Motherhood changed that.
All sorts of strange things happen to you after giving birth. All you moms out there know what I’m talking about. And it’s more than just your feet growing a whole shoe size. I wore contacts all most every day for 15 years with out any problems before my son was born. But now they get so uncomfortable after an hour or two that I only wear them for special occasions. How being pregnant caused that I can not explain. But it did.
Well, I got new glasses last week, because my old ones had been pulverized by my son so many times that the lenses wouldn’t stay in anymore no matter how tight the screws were.
These are my old glasses.
These are my new glasses.
When I came home from the eye doctor Saturday my husband and son were watching an NCAA playoff game. I was pretty excited about my stylish new glasses, hoping they made me look intelligent, hip and interesting rather than old and boring. I personally think there’s quite a bit of difference between the old and new frames. However neither my husband or son noticed! I was all ready for compliments. All I got was, “What’s there to eat?” When the game ended I asked, “Notice anything different?” I just got blank stares. When I finally pointed them out my husband said, “Oh, yeah.” And my son asked, “Can I play with them?”
The next morning I went to the Women’s Bible Study at my church. I barely got in the door before five different women who I see once, maybe twice a week mentioned my glasses and complimented me on them.
This a great illustration of one of the differences between men and women. If the game’s on, most men wouldn’t notice the glasses let alone that the house was burning down around them. On the other hand, women would notice the new glasses even if their their team was down by one point and in possession of the ball with 13 seconds left on the clock and the house was burning down around them. Am I right ladies? Guys, especially my dear husband and son, I’m not bashing you. We’re just different, that’s all. It’s O.K. to be different.
I came across the Shabby Apple on line recently. I love their pretty, feminine dresses. And they’re as easy to wear as they are cute.
Owners Emily and CK started Shabby Apple when they couldn’t find stylish dresses that were still modest and comfortable to wear. And they were tired of having to wear tank tops underneath everything for extra coverage. While the word modest might make you think frumpy, their designs are anything but.
I love Buttoned-Up with pin tucking detail on the bodice.
How about Duck Beach with the flirty bow? Perfect for a spring stroll in the park.
Wow them at night in Sabrina. Black satin with a tulle slip peeking out below. In the back Satin-covered buttons unbutton all the way down to the waist.
I like Shabby Applebecause their dresses are classic and subtle, but still stylish and sexy. At 32 with a toddler in tow, I’d look ridiculous dressed like Lindsey Lohan. But I don’t want to dress like my grandmother either. It seems like it’s difficult to find anything in between these days.
I’m definitely adding Shabby Apple to my shopping list this spring!
Look at those kids, taking their first steps into the rest of their lives. That young newlywed couple is my husband and me. This Friday we will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.
The number ten stirs up feelings that don’t seem to go together. It sounds like a long time, but it doesn’t feel like a long time. The years have flown by. But then it also feels like we’ve always been married. I don’t remember what it was like not to have him in my life.
I am so glad God chose this special man for me. I love him so, and I know he loves me. My husband and I could not have known that day the journey those first steps would lead us on. Much of the path took us by ways we certainly didn’t plan on. We’ve had good times and difficult times like everyone else. But through it all we always found a way to laugh and smile together, and God has blessed and protected us.
As I was looking through our wedding album I wondered, “If your 32-year-old self could go back to the afternoon of March 7th, 1998, and talk to that starry-eyed 22-year-old girl what would you tell her? ”
1. Never dwell on the past, savor the present and don’t worry about the future.
2. Be content in the circumstances God has placed you in. Don’t keep looking for the Next Big Thing.
3. Remember that your husband is only human. You can’t expect him to be perfect.
4. Remember that your aren’t perfect either.
5. Think about the words you say before they fly out of your mouth, especially when you’re angry.
6. There is never a right time to buy a house, move, have a baby, or change careers. All you can do is follow God and step out in faith, trusting that if you make the decision he wants, he will honor that by providing for you.
7. Somehow two people adds up to four times the laundry! Ha! :)
8. You think you are in love now, but you have no idea the intimacy and closeness you will have 10 years from now. It really does get better from here.
9. Be patient about acquiring financial gains, material possessions and things the world values. God will give you what you need.
10. You both still have a lot of growing up to do. You won’t recognize yourself in 10 years. Interest, priorities and even your tastes will change.
Ah, the wisdom of the ages. To a lot of that I probably would have just shrugged my shoulders and rolled my eyes back then. Oh, well. I learned quite a bit in a decade. I know I’m not finished. I have a lot more to learn. I also have many more happy years to spend with my husband. I’m looking forward to where the journey leads us next, and all the smiles and laughter along the way.
