Let me first say, I am a feminist, and I have always been one. Why? Because that is how my father raised me! Despite having a tradition marriage with a stay at home wife, he always encouraged my sister and I to follow our dreams, that we could achieve anything we put our minds to in anything we wanted! And to get an education and a good career. (My sister was a lawyer!)
So that is one man, I could not do without!
My husband is someone that I could never live without. I've always managed to be financially independent in the 35 years we have been together, meaning, except for a few years, when I had to resign my position because he got transferred, I have always contributed money, even though I only worked a few days a week when the chidren were small. It made the difference in making ends meet!
So much more than money. There is companionship. He is my best friend and buddy. But he has also accepted, especially since he retired, that going to car parts stores, junk yards and looking at old broken down cars is not my thing! BUT, the fact that he is exceptionally handy at anything is an amazing bonus! My father once commented that we probably saved hundreds of thousands of dollars over the first 30 years of our marriage buying old cars, and my husband fixing them, often with parts he scrounged at an auto wrecker. And sometimes, having to fix a car besides the road, is an adventure, right?
My husband also led me to the Lord. He is very strong in the Lord and his faith is amazing! Never a doubt or fear about the love and power of God. And having him means on the occasional morning when I want to sleep in on a Sunday, he gets me going and vice versa. Now, we are talking our grandchildren to church when we are visiting them. He holds them, takes them to Sunday School and protects them.
Then there is protection. I've never worried about that much - mostly because he has always been there for me. He is bigger and much stronger than I am. And he is also a mesomorph. That is a person that is mostly muscle. Strong muscles. So I work out daily for years - weights, aerobics, etc. We go for a bike ride together, and he just passes me by. I remember going skiing with him when we were younger. He literally did nothing the whole year. I was in shape. As he passed me by doing actual circles, he said something about "I come alive when I am skiing!" Silly man! And then I went in and rested. So men are stronger, and in my case, hubby is more in shape. But still nice to know that he is there to protect me.
I was pretty independent until I got sick with RA. I pulled my weight around the house and yard. But after I got sick, he just started pulling my weight. We bought a new house with landscaping already done last year. There are roses everywhere. I can't prune because of my hands, and so he googled how to do it, and pruned them back. Now he notices roses and flowers and birds! We have a bird bath, and it was broken and tipped over, so he fixed it and he keeps water in it for the birds! This was something I never expected, but now we share our interests in gardening, although he does the hard work.
Then there was today. I had minor surgery, and I cannot put my right foot down for 2 weeks. He brought the wheelchair, helped me get up our step. Then made me lunch! Sometimes I feel like I am always receiving these days - but God has given him a heart to love and help me, even as I seem to get worse. I know he will always stand by me.
Wow! I didn't mean to rave about my husband. There are lots of other important men in my life. Like a Christian uncle who showed and demonstrated who Christ is to me when I was young. Like my sons, who showed me what men were about - that it was not a coincidence that my boys liked hockey and playing trucks, and my daughter like dolls and pretty things! They really changed my feelings about unisex and that boys and girls are identical. Nope! They are all unique, and boys are boys and girls are girls.
Great thread, glad I stumbled in here, today!