What I Love About Men...

God made so many beautiful things for us to enjoy on this planet.  One of those beautiful things is men!  I am not the girl that takes them and makes them my own.  I don't have scrolling lists of lovers or anything like that.  I just love them!  I hear women complain and I have a few complaints of my own.  But, if we're being honest, men have their fair share of complaints too.  It's just part of the balance of life.  Nothing is ever perfect.  If it were, what would be the motivation to getting to Heaven?  It's by design.  But, make no mistake, though I have some complaints, my list of pros definitely outweigh the cons.  So, because it's my favorite subject - my favorite "art" - I thought I would share my list of favorite things about guys.  I don't mean to make them objects, but rather, I celebrate them.  Some of the things I celebrate might surprise you.  Some might just be predictable.  But, I find them amazing and I just wanted to post some of my favorite things!
 

1.  I absolutely adore manliness.  Even a man in a suit can be manly!  In my opinion, manliness is not always a steady, constant trait.  Sometimes, it's more like a fleeting moment.  But, no matter if it's constant or not, I find it to be one of the very rich things about guys.  They mow grass.  They fish.  They hunt.  They fix cars.  They chase after the noises in the night.  They can be protective.  They sweat and get dirty, without a thought about it.  The see a goal at hand and they can't rest until it's accomplished.  They muscle their way through the chores of everyday life and they carry crazy amounts of responsibility on their shoulders; never buckling under the weight of it all. 

2.  There is a lot to be said for the man that can admit when he's wrapped around a girls finger.  These tough guys that admit when they're head over heels is so amazing to me.  I've heard guys talk about their wives when they're not around.  The ones that aren't afraid to admit being a fool for the love of their lives is a very precious thing.  I love that!

3.  They have this inherent need to solve every problem.  Most of the time, they're good at it.  Sometimes, it's just those no win situations.  But, you gotta respect a man that's brave enough to try anyway.  They just take it all on and they make it look very effortless.  Their kryptonite is the love of their life with tears, or their children with tears.  Tough as they are, men have hearts that care when their loved ones are upset or hurt.  They can't handle it and they want to make it better.  I've seen it so many times.  It's a beautiful thing!

4.  On a more superficial note, they are built in ways that are like fluid pieces of art.  Even if they don't hit the gym on a regular basis, guys are just built to look like warriors.  They resemble strength and protection.  They will challenge someone larger than themselves, especially when it involves the safety and security of their family.  Don't get me wrong!  Bar room brawls are not all that appealing to me.  However, when a man is willing to put himself between, what he views to be danger, and his loved ones, it's just breath taking!  And, on a side note, I've seen some "small" guys that stood toe to toe with some "big" guys.  Fearless!  It's an instinctual fearlessness that seems to lack logic or rationale in terms of comparison.  They don't evaluate that they are the smaller of the two.  They don't care!  They kick in to overdrive.  I'll be honest.  The times I've seen it, smaller or not, my money was on the protector, regardless of the size of the "intruder." 

5.  It's not the way a man combs his hair.  It's not the way he dresses (though I'll be shallow enough to touch on that too in a minute).  It's the things he does when he has no idea anyone even sees him.  It's when he's in his zone and he's doing whatever mission he's on.  I've seen guys checking the lines across the grass left by the mower in the front yard and it pulled my heart.  I've seen guys trying to figure out which way to turn the wrench while working on a car and just been so moved.  It's the obvious determination that is appealing to me.  It's the concentration and dedication they pour in to anything they do.  It's all or nothing and it's beautiful!  They can focus and there's something about when a guy is absorbed in his task that is just so charming to me. 

6.  I'm also a huge fan of manners.  Call me old fashioned, but I don't mind it when a guy opens a door for me.  I think it's very attractive when they're on a mission (refer to #5) and bump into, or accidentally run into (or over) an innocent bystander and they are big enough to apologize and/or excuse themselves.  It's courtesy that we should all show each other.  Both genders have been guilty of plowing through a person and acting annoyed at the audacity displayed by the other party for getting in their way.  It's not attractive in the least!  But, for example, the other evening, while walking through a store, a gentleman walked right into me because he was looking over his shoulder.  He just almost set me on my caboose - though not a big guy, he had some momentum behind him.  Anyway, when he realized what he had done, he grabbed a hold of my arm to help steady me and he apologized and said, "Please excuse me!"  He truly felt bad about it and it was touching.  I smiled and told him it was alright.  He went on his way, and so did I.  I may never see that guy again.  But, if I do, I will remember him because he was just polite.  Manners, in my opinion, display class and it doesn't matter what a guy looks like or what he wears.  He can have class no matter what.  It is a choice, and I believe that.  So what if he's not made out of money!  I am not his accountant.  But, there is a lot to be said for gentlemen with respect for those around them and the courtesy to use their manners. 

7.  Back to the superficial - appearance type things.  I think guys are just cool.  I don't really care what a guy wears as long as he comfortable.  But, I have to say that it is very handsome when a manly man can put on a white button up shirt with his blue jeans and keep the shirt white!  I just think it's sexy.   White is like one of those fragile, delicate type of things in my mind.  It's soft and when there is a guy draped in softness, I just think it's very nice!  I wouldn't expect to see a guy out building houses wearing a white shirt, but when going to dinner or date night or whatever, I think it's a nice touch.  I also have this thing for baseball caps with t-shirts.  Laid back and relaxed styles have a certain versatility that I admire.  I had a guy try to help me change my tire one in his business attire.  I was so worried about this guy messing up his clothes.  It was the morning to make it even worse.  I was touched that he was willing to help (though it ended up taking an air wrench (?) to get it).  He didn't care about his clothes.  He was in mode #5.  But, I felt bad.  If he wasn't dressed so nicely, I wonder if I would've thought the same way.  That's not to say that I don't like guys that are in the business duds!  There's a lot of really good looking guys that put on their business clothes.  Underneath, they are still MEN.  I just find that I worry about guys getting dirty when they're all dressed up.  I guess it makes me nervous - not a fault or a flaw of theirs.  This is really my own deal. 

8.  One of my favorite things is the little boy charm that guys never seem to completely loose.  If they have a dog, and they want to haul that dog every where with them, it makes me think of the classic movie Old Yeller.  I think of little Arliss and that is what they remind me of.  It's like the little boy in them is sneaking out.  It's cute.  It's one of the most lovable things in the world to me.  When they goof off and do mischievous things that I could see my boys doing, it's just cute to me.  They push their buddy off the pier into the water below when he's least expecting it and laughing the whole time, it's just cute.  They hide their buddy's keys just to watch him look for them.  It's just fun, light hearted humor and I think it's great!  But, when the prank comes back their way, it's really cool when they can take it in stride and start planning their retaliation.  I just love guys!

So, though I could go on all night and day about my favorite things about guys, I will stop here for now.  In closing, I would just like to say that I am a huge fan of guys.  I like the softer side of them.  I like their rough, tough side.  I don't care what a guy looks like, every one of the them does something that I find lovable.  I'm just a huge fan!  And, no matter what a guy does for a living, no matter what he wears to work, to me, just almost every guy in the world is worthy of admiration.  So, please keep doing what you do and being who and what you are.  You're awesome!  Thank you for being you!