This is a re-post of something I wrote several years ago for Father’s Day. I think this Father’s Day weekend is a good time to share it again, and now is a good time to celebrate and appreciate God’s gift of manhood.
45 years ago today I was blessed to marry the most wonderful man in the world. From the time I met him, just before I turned 18, he became the yardstick I measured all men by. He’s never failed to keep that bar high.
He inspired this post. I love him with all my heart. He has my respect, my loyalty, my admiration. He deserved the best of wives in return, but never complained about settling for me.
26 God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.’
27 God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.
I had an experience this weekend that made me think about men, about masculinity. It seems manhood is under attack these days from many directions. Indeed, in my opinion, a part of what so offends so many people about President Trump, especially Hillary supporters, is his unapologetic masculinity. He is a man who knows his power and embraces it.
That being said (and I can’t believe I put it in here, knowing where it could lead) please don’t make this another political free for all. My point here is broader.
To all you guys out there, tough guys, whether you express that inner strength clad in a business suit or well worn jeans and work boots, please accept the appreciation and approval of those of us who celebrate who and what you are, and what you do. Every day in ways large and small, you go out and just get the job done. You don’t ask for approval, thanks, or cheers because it just wouldn’t occur to you, and you are too busy getting things done to stop for recognition.
Lots of feminists have a problem with men. I believe they throw around terms like patriarchy, which they probably never looked up in their Funk and Wagnalls. Some humans with an X chromosome, and a few without one, appear to be threatened by the reality of masculinity.
Get a grip chicks, if you are really okay with who and what you are, men are not a threat, but a gift, not competition, but complementary. If your “feminine power” must be derived from the destruction of the epic event of God’s creation, you are pathetic already and men have nothing to do with that failure, you own it.
I’m not even going to waste breath here encouraging men to not allow women to define their masculinity. He who does that is already beyond my poor advice.
Men. All ages, sizes, colors, and other assorted variations. You were different from the moment of conception, and thank God for that. As a child you were faster, stronger, dirtier, and louder. You were often fearless while I stood beside you weighing the odds and assessing the situation. You climbed the tree while I looked for the ladder. You snuck out with the family car while I was cajoling dad for the keys.
In my day, back in the Dark Ages, as we grew into teens and young men and women, you actually appreciated my femininity and rewarded me with attention and admiration. Many of you were kind enough to open doors for me, walk alongside the curb beside me, and lift heavy objects before I tried to. You paid the bill for our dates, and if you ever wanted another one, you walked me to the door.
Because God is good, and loving, and gives us abundant graces and good things, in the early days of my womanhood, I fell in love with this wondrous creature God made from dust and clay. That right there ought to be a hint to us, man from dirt, earthy, strong, fundamental. But, I digress.
I married a man. A for real not apologizing for it man. He has muscles and strength and brawn and intelligence and toughness, a toughness that nothing in this world has ever even come close to breaking. Not even a little crack. Not once in all our years (41 Monday) has he ever even paused in the face of terrible trials and hardships. Now, I know him. I know that he isn’t a robot and he isn’t superman. Sure he’s had doubts, fears, and moments of desperation.
He never once, not one time, not ever considered giving in to them. On his shoulders landed the burdens that would have crushed me and our family without him. God alone knows the weight he bore. His faith was apparent and he led our family to church, led us in faith and worship. The kind that isn’t really so much talked about as lived.
So today, as we honor fathers, I just wanted to throw out a little appreciation for men. I pray that as the world turns and we learn from our mistakes, someday it is popular and honored for men to be men again. Soldiers, sailors, welders, business men, salesmen, teachers, pipefitters, mechanics, electricians, truck drivers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, preachers, rabbis, priests. Fathers, husbands, sons.
Thank you, God, for making men. Thank you for making them in your image. If you, Father, are the model from which my husband was formed, I sure am going to be so happy to meet you. Thank you for all the wonderful men you gifted us with, especially your Son.
Added note. To all who were here with us when my grandson Conner had his heart surgery almost two years ago now, who have asked so frequently how he’s doing, I added his picture. Yep, he’s one of the next generation of fearless daredevil boys in the family. His favorite thing is climbing and jumping, which he’s in the process of doing here. Thank you all for remembering him.
Added note to the added note ?: As I said, this post was written four years ago. Conner will be six this summer, God help us keep up with him.
Menagerie, you are gifted! Thanks for this.
Happy Marianas Turkey Shoot Day. I tip my hat to my old friend Alex Vraciu.
Happy Father’s Day tomorrow.
Thank you Menagerie for this most wonderful post.
And might I say, you are obliviously …
A Real Woman!!
A Real Wife and Partner!
A Real Mom and Grandma!
And a Most Wonderful Person!
Bless you!
WOW!!
And of all your blessings, Grandma & Grandpa have Conner, who I’m sure is already wearing ya’ll out.
One day soon, this little man will realize how blessed he is to have such a magnificent family and as all real men do, put forth his best to extend that heritage.
I find they do not wear out with their boundless energy, but revitalize and recharge that which was forgetting the exuberance of the youthful self.
Great post and congratulations on 45 years!
That was beautiful. Thank you. Lord knows I try. I never expect or ask for any recognition. Yet, it feels good to hear someone who respects and loves men. This is probnably why I have read A Princess of Mars 100 times. Truly, Barsoom is a world where masculine and feminine are the highest ideal.
Wonderful post. Happy Fathers Day to you all!
This is “extremist” thinking.
It dissents from BLM doctrine, therefore it is “racist”.
All in support here are now under heightened surveillance by Big Brother.
Dad was always right. In the end, Dad was always right.
Dad was waiting to leave the hospital after his last chemo. I gave him a lengthy and detailed explanation how he must wait for the orderly, it was the hospital rules, blah blah blah.
One of the last things I recall Dad saying to me was “I think you’re full of sheet.”
In my next 7 or 8 surgeries, each time I picked up and walked out under my own power, twice without being discharged.
In the end, Dad was always right.
How I miss him.
My prayer is for everyone to have a Dad like mine.
And thx for the Conner update, one thinks of him often.
I can relate.my Dad fell off our boat..about 3 ft.face down on the cememt walk way ..oh what ever you call it..he was probably in his late 80’s.people rushed over, called the squad. took him to the hospital..under his protests….I drove 2 hrs. north to Lake Erie, with heart in my mouth. I go into his room..he is putting his clothes on, grumbling that he couldn’t understand a word the Doctor said…ahem..and then proceeded to whiz out of the hospital..with everyone saying..you can’t do that.!! I just shrugged and said..send us the bill..He like all of our Dad’s..was one of a kind..He passed away at 96..still working…that was in 1993…and I still find myself reaching for the phone to bring him up to date on something..Miss you, DAD!!!
Thank You! ?. Posts such as this one is why The Last Refuge is unique……and…..the best site ever.
Happy Father’s Day to all!
Today, the missing ingredient is respect. Feminazis have made respect a zero sum game. Either we respect men OR women, and there is not enough respect to go around for both.
This is unbalanced, it is like asking someone to choose between their right and left hands. We never want to be without either, and they were made to work together and be together. Men and women need each other, if indeed humanity does not perish from the earth.
Men were made in the image of God. Women were made in the image of the object of God’s love (mankind is the object of God’s love).
Thank you. I never comment here but this brought tears to my eyes. 34 y/o father of 2 boys, trying my best to raise them right. God bless CTH and strengthen all of us for the days ahead.
We would enjoy hearing from you more often, Cal!
Thanks – I’ll keep that in mind. From your user name it looks like you and I are breathing the same polluted air.
Radical feminism is out of control in the West. Men need to learn to stand together politically, socially, and economically to overthrow its yoke off their necks, off their lives. EOM.
We shouldn’t need a movement or organization – though I acknowledge that masculinity is under attack and you can’t just let them roll over you.
Instead let’s attack the men who let it happen. Pile on. Join their girlfriends and wives and harp on their weak, useless spines. I’m not talking violence, but I am talking mockery. In-person, on the internet, whatever. They need to imagine that 80% of men are P.O.-ed at them. At that point I think you can expect change.
I understand your point of holding males who enable feminism accountable and see it as beneficial to moving together to remove this devilish yoke of feminism off of our lives and the lives of boys growing up. However, the problem is embedded. We need political and legal reform, we need social and cultural reform, we need economic reform. Effective movements aid in accomplishing such.
No, you just need to walk out of the hospital without waiting for the “orderly”.
And great post Menage
You’ll get no respect for ad hominem trolling. It’s reported. Now go away.
If you pick the right woman leave the feminist where they are. They are not going any place.
No thanks. I don’t jump out of airplanes without parachutes. I have never and never will place myself under a body of law that empowers a female to misuse my government to rob, bully, and persecute me… even long after she’s left to have sex with other people and/or herd small animals.
I don’t sign bad contracts meant to exploit my utility by transferring my assets to the government to pass on to females that leave men.
When it comes times for heirs, I’ll hire a surrogate lawyer and have heirs I can keep. No females will exploit this man’s utility through radical leftist feminist laws.
Pay your own bills.
I predict a time will come when an end to forcing unmarried men, through government taxation, to continue paying for those welfare programs, grants, programs, and benefits for unmarried females that they have no access to will finally be challenged and win at the Supreme Court. Not there yet though, unfortunately.
Feminism is a subset of Communism.
They don’t make real men like they used to!
Try to put yourself in their shoes and think of how many times they endured just what this clip shows,…… and far more.
That’s exactly why I posted the clip. In WWI this scene happened a hundred times a day over four long years in a war that stretched from France to Turkey.
What incredible courage!
There is no way the U.S. military will ever line up the many females and disordered transsexuals’ they’re enlisting to charge beaches when that day comes.
They keep the women “in the rear with the gear” enjoying fast-track EO promotions over men that they then will order to charge beaches like this.
The U.S. military is turning into a feminist matriarchy (with LGBTQ tendencies) and it’s obvious from the rapid decline in enlistment among young males that increasingly young men don’t want to serve in a military where they are bossed around by feminists and preyed upon by homosexuals of higher rank.
They have other plans for their utility which benefits themselves. It’s simply more advantageous to seek certification and licensing for an in-demand trade and open a business. They can be their own boss and make a good living instead.
I write this as an honorably discharged veteran. Let all those fast-track promoted females the U.S. military is importing charge the beaches rather than keep them in the rear benefitting off the utility of poorly paid young men foolish enough to enlist in this environment to be their crash dummies.
Speaking from the messed-up segment of the country: your post inspires me to be the kind of man you describe. The more real women we have like you, the more real men we’re going to have.
Congratulations on a good marriage.
Well, thanks. Us guys pretty much just do it and often think about it later.. “WTH was I thinking of”.
Then of course, we get you ladies warning us, or as we think, nagging us. 😉
But as they say, one man and one woman and everything is happy… so long as my wife is happy.
Congratulations on your 45, we’re about to go 35 ourselves. And yes, I open the door, cede the umbrella, drive 18 hours non stop while she relaxes, not complain and when the kids were home, I’d be the wall of last resort (the bucks stops here).
Oh, you forgot something about Father’s Day… it’s the one time we can buy more tools with impunity. I know what I want this year, another nice DeWalt cordless jobbie for the collection, and she’ll be happy I got it. We’ll likely both go to the Home Depot shopping for it. 😉
(But as usual, I’ll buy her a gift as well. She loves gifts, I know her size and her taste ).
But, honestly, in my home, it’s Mother’s Day we really celebrate… even as this year my own Mother passed away just a couple of months ago, at least I got my Wife, mother of my kids.
You know, I don’t understand why people divorce, why they cheat on each other. Husband and Wife, Wife and Husband, it’s a Team, Best Friends Forever…. to cheat on my wife would be to cheat on me.
Any how, Happy Mother’s Day to you! 😉
Hope you can find a tool that is still Made in America! Happy Fathers’ Day!
Well, my wife is Made In Japan… and I’m very happy with that.
Thank you, Menagerie! You must have married my husband’s twin! Thank God for real men! We have been married for 50 years and I strive everyday to make him happy to come home!
God bless you and your family! Please give Conner a big hug from all of us in the treehouse!
This may be a bit of an unusual post for Father’s Day, but when I saw “real men” in the title I couldn’t help but think of an op-ed I wrote last summer that fits so well! I hope you enjoy it!
Blessed Father’s Day to all(:
Why Do Leftists Really Hate Trump.pdf
Thank you for posting this wonderful essay. May God continue to bless you and yours.
I wholeheartedly echo your sentiments about masculinity and God’s design for us.
Thank you…great post. Libs don’t recognize Fathers as it highlights the lack of Fathers in the black community.
Being a Father is a balancing act between, family, work and faith. And it is hard to excel at all three.
I tire of the media insulting white men insinuating that they are stupid, naive and worthless. And that women rescue them and are smarter. It’s all over the TV or print today. It’s similar to the dumb blond jokes years ago…of which I thought were stupid as well. Doubtful it will change, however, I do note the source and boycott it .
Happy Fathers Day to all…good job!
Ah, yes! 57 years one great viking has put up with me. I thank the good Giftie for him. Tiny blonde, blue-eyed daughter tells him, “Dad, I’m out of things at Nordstrom.” and “Dad, I need a new set of harp strings.” Large dark hair and dark eyed son learns from his Dad. Follows him around. quiet talk about diesel engines, etc.
And it is not only the living men, but the dead. Going back in the mists of time. our men recently fought and died in the american civil War and the revolution and then came to these shores from Wales, Scotland, Switzerland, Holland, England where they had lived and had wives for millenia.
Well we are right there with you,56 years on 6-12-21. Menagerie,I and the CTH family would love a picture of you and the hubby.Is it not funny how different lives seem to follow the same path but with different turns ,but the same arrival point. Happy Father’s Day to all.
Scott, I don’t know how to get pix to you. anyway, pix of us in our “salad days” or now “in the sere and yellow leaf?”
To get a very good idea of my darling look at pix of Peter O’Toole in LORD JIM. darling’s nose not so sharp.
I’m just an ordinary old gal. On our wedding day I stood 5’7″ and weighed 104 lbs.
over our years together we have grown into each other like two trees intertwining.
Absolutely beautiful. You said it all! We only made it to 43 years (would have been 45 this year) but much like you I am grateful that he settled for me. The love never ends if it is true to begin with. Not a day passes that I don’t miss him, but was I ever fortunate to have found him! Thank God.
Yes, thank you GOD for making men in your image. My husband is one of them. This godly man has been through five different types of cancer, seven surgeries and now is waiting to schedule a heart valve replacement and yet has never waivered in his love for the LORD. He is the strongest man I’ve ever known. Would appreciate your prayers for him.
Thank you to all who post the most wonderful things. Very uplifting when you are sometimes a bit down.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL and HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL FATHER’S
I could’nt agree more, love my Father in heaven, my Dad , my two brothers ,my husband of 40 years , my two wonderful sons, one son in law and my three wild grandsons. Yep I love all my strong men!
Menagerie, we have 46 years. You said it!!
Amen.
And thank you.
Wishing all fathers here on The Last Refuge the best of Fathers” Day!!!
men don’t wear sunscreen and don’t spend ANY time thinking about combing hair or pressing slacks
“real” men will give lots of excuses when tough dirty work is involved.
when you meet a man or a woman who is truly authentic and self reliant with no anchors and false bravado… take note…and consider how much of your life is devoted to ridiculous fleeting things that will never matter and no one will ever remember you by.
what makes you happy is an interesting question.
be a simple man
Thank you for sharing that. Brings me back down to earth where our work is. Sometimes my head ends up in the clouds but my lovely Navajo bride of 48 years keeps me on my toes daily.
As strong as I am, my wife brings out the best in me. She’s my rock, my lighthouse and at times my rudder. She’s knows when to slide into wing position covering my six and when I solo, it’s to confirm my abilities. Instead of a Father’s Day, I make it into Our Day because her presence is my greatest pleasure.
God Bless you Menagerie.. I read your posts to start my day with the correct outlook .
Happy Father’s Day Treppers.
This is a wonderful missive about men and their strengths that bind families together. You are fortunate to have spent your life with such a wonderful man.
I have always struggled with Father’s day. My own “Father” offered my mother $200 in 1963 to abort me. She told him in no uncertain terms to f*ck off. I met him once when I was at a store with my mother when I was four. He walked up to us and exchanged greetings with my mother. He then asked “Is that her?” I knew even as a four year old that this was an odd question and I asked “mommy who was that man?” She told me that she would tell me when I was older. I never forgot the man in the drug store and pestered her about it often. She told me when i was eight that he was my father. She would soon divorce my second stepfather. There would be one more stepfather to live through. Overall, he was not a good person and certainly not a father figure to me.
I think that the lack of a good father figure in my life helped lead me to accept an abusive boyfriend who I thankfully had arrested and got away from. It also played a part in my selection of who I married 28 years ago. Not a great choice and although I’m still married to him, I need to seek counsel and obtain a divorce.
Father’s out there please know that your impact on both your sons and daughters have tremendous significance in their lives and futures.
Awwwww…
You are not your father’s “mistake”.
Your are not your mother’s mistakeS and /or poor choices; Nor are you yours.
May all future father’s days be your “My Day”.
Be well
~Live your best life❣ (Thank you, Sundance)
Thank you!! I needed that. It can be like Mothers day part II. Flowers, candy, maybe a pedicure. I love the idea!
Amen. Stay strong. Seek counsel with God (the true Father) for you are his daughter and he will not forsake you. You are his creation and you’re special to him.
Thank you. It took me nearly fifty years to learn this truth and accept it in my soul.
I have 2 sons and 7 grandsons. I grew up in a household of women imagine my surprise at what testosterone adds to life. Men think differently, their motion is forward toward the most effective, the quickest resolution to achieve the goal, warrior thinking. They live their lives as a chess game.
I remain in awe.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it was men who got in their boats (my husband was one of them) and rescued thousands of people from their rooftops and attics. My kids and I once witnessed a terrible car accident in which a car veered in front of an 18-wheeler. All traffic on both sides of the expressway came to a stop and what happened next moved me to tears. So many men (my son included) went running out of their cars to help the injured. The semi was laying sideways and the men helped the driver get out. A woman was thrown from her car and they tended to her. Look at any disaster and tell me who are the people that put themselves out there to do search, rescue, rebuild, aid and assist. Mostly men. They are wired that way.
What a beautiful, heartfelt post/ message!
and ( Happy Anniversary ? )
I love this post.
Me, I’m a woman and I talk to many young men. All of them complain about feminists, it’s a huge problem. So, I say to them when they meet a new gal, tell her a woman joke of the ‘dumb’ type. If it upsets her, dump her. If she laughs, keep her in your sights. In other words, take the bull by the horns. It will spare you a lot of misery and wasted time.
Happy Father’s Day to all here. Keep the faith and continue to be a shining beacon of light for all who come in contact with you. May only good things await you.
Those that have been blessed to personally receive similar praise and accolades to Menagerie’s article have received one of the most treasured gifts they will ever receive or experience in life, (IMO of course.) And if a person has a spouse that deserves to be praised as eloquently and lovingly as Menagerie has done for her husband then they are doubly blessed.
I still often praise my wife (to others) and I genuinely believe she was one of God’s and Earth’s kindest and best ever creations. She was also the greatest wonder in the world to me. (Beloved offspring are in their own special category.) But every time I personally (only) placed my wife at the top, I also hoped that all or most other spouses feel exactly the same about their spouses as I and now Menagerie do.
I really enjoyed reading Menagerie’s version and I thank her for honoring men in general and in their positive contributions in life. But I have no doubt that my wife was the far better half in our personal love story.
Ty for that beautifully written tribute. I feel similarly blessed. I was raised by a leftist, but for the wisdom God offers, and with the help of my husband and other conservatives, I am so grateful to understand and experience what love is.
I learn so much for reading postings here, and it certainly explains the left’s desperation & relentless attempts to quell our ability to connect and communicate. Ty patriots for your courageous & ceaseless commitment to sharing love, life & liberty bringing wisdom.
To paraphrase Queen Gorgo
“Only Patriotic American Women give birth to real men”.
Amen, Menagerie, Amen!!!
Thank you for the re-post Menagerie. I am thinking I printed if off when you first posted it so I could include it in the Father’s Day card I gave several years ago to my wonderful man of a husband. Fortunately I know of many other women who are blessed to have real men spouses too. We are truly blessed!
LOL !!! little boys can be almost suicidal at times . I laughed when my daughter had a boy 2 years after her daughter was born. The comparison between the 2 on shear dare devil attitude was funny. Little boys love to climb and they don’t care. A little wolverine attitude in those guys.
Managerie,
Such a wonderful post. Conner is a beautiful gift from God. My grandson also had open heart surgery two years ago, and just turned six. He is such a joy and I cherish every moment spent with him.
May all the Fathers and Grandfathers here have a wonderful day tomorrow.
Menagerie,
I can only hope I fulfilled my life as a true alpha male to my wife as your husband has to you.
My wife and I married each other 3 times. The first when we eloped to Las Vegas, the second when we renewed our vows in Mexico on the exact day one year later and finally on the same day a year later when it was all finalized in a Church of God.
In fact, for the Church wedding, we of course had to take the compatibility test and we scored a 99 out of a 100. It should have been a 100 but there was a question I misunderstood but all is good, in fact, all is great!
Coming up on 24 years together and I’m blessed with a woman in my life who truly understands me and my alpha male attitude and is not afraid to put me in my place and at the same time, regards me as her compass.
To my wife… Love you Momma!
Nicely done. Proud to say that — God rest their souls — my mom and dad created a boy and raised up a man.
Now, just shy of 70, my wife of 40 years reminds me often that they ‘done good’.
Thankyou! This is the best Father’s Day tribute I’ve ever read!
Blessings to you and yours. I’m fortunate to have been raised by a man, married to a man, and have a son who is a man. The last wasn’t easy (he’s 28). Public school system was already working their evil back then.
Menagerie,
Thank You for a beautiful and thoughtful writing . Happily married to the Love Of My Life for 40 years. It really saddens me, to hear people say awful things about all men, Not true. There are good and loving men all around. Maybe all those women are just too much into themselves. We would not be here today , for all the men that sacrificed everything, so we could keep our freedom. The ME To and Woke liberals have nothing else in their life except COMPLAINING. Pretty sad if you ask me.
To all the men and fathers , who have devoted their lives to their families, communities, and country.
We Love you
Tea
We ae all blessed to have them and you and Sundance and this site…
That was awesome. Thank you.
I appreciate praising men. They are wonderful, mostly. But not at the expense of women “but he never complained about settling for me”. IMO, that is a self-denigrating remark and does not fit in with praise of men. If you think that you are so unworthy that your husband had to “settle” for you, you cannot in any way be his equal – according to your own definition of yourself. It seems you have a patriarchal relationship. (haha). Your husband has all the power and you are just grateful he did not leave you sitting on the shelf.
Your opinion is wrong. If you read the whole article in the spirit it was written you would understand that. Instead you focused on a sentence phrased in humility and great praise and twisted it.