Exceptional men

I love men. I love men who are man enough to take care of business yet gentle enough to love the women in their lives and show, through their actions, how much they care.

I love men who are polite, eager to help or open a door for a woman (even though they don’t know her) and then walk away without even asking for her name or trying to get her contact details.

I love knowing that, no matter how scared I get when I hear suspicious noises outside, there is a man in the house who will ‘sort it out,’ and protect me irrespective of whether he too is scared or not!

Something tugs at my heartstrings each time I see men who will rub a pregnant partner’s back and feet when she needs it and work very hard to make the home a stress-free environment during the nine months that ‘wifey’ is expecting.

I adore men who tug along to antenatal visits with their spouses and play an active role in their partner’s pregnancy. These are the men who are in the delivery room during labour, scared, excited yet fearful for their partner’s well-being. Alternatively, they might be anxiously pacing outside the ward, hands behind their back, hearts leaping to their throats each time a nurse walks out the door, praying for good news.

There is just something irresistible about men who work tirelessly to help provide for their families. The fact that they stick around shows the love and level of commitment they have towards their families because they might just as easily pack up, jump ship and start afresh somewhere else.

Most of all, though, I love men who manifest this love towards their families through their actions. Yes, they will go out to watch the football match at the pub or club with the boys  and yes, they might spend entire weekends playing golf but in everything they do, they tread carefully because they are conscious of the fact that their actions will ultimately impact on their children. Because of this, they respect their spouses in both speech and actions, they play an active role in their children’s lives through helping them do the home-work. They set a good example by going to church with the family or fostering relations with aunts and uncles to illustrate the beauty of extended families. These men take an interest in their children’s personalities then work to build and maintain an open relationship with them.

They know that providing alone is not enough and that being a father does not mean simply being a disciplinarian. They know that raising happy, goal-oriented, well-rounded children requires a firm balance between emotional, financial, moral support and a healthy, loving environment in the home.  To all these men; those that were, are and will be great dads I say, Happy Father’s Day!

Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice. Unknown.