Thanks for the difference you make
One way to be complete and resolve any possible unresolved issues with our mother is to find any means possible to acknowledge and appreciate women. Matters not what women have done to me. Matters more that I can appreciate what women have done for me and for humanity. That doesn’t mean that men have done less. But for a man to have the courage to appreciate women for their contribution is, in itself, a contribution to humanity.
As with anything, appreciation is only possible with either a fresh view untinged by baggage or earned familiarity. Having finally let someone, a man, get close enough to be called my best friend as well as lover, husband, and partner, I have learned to see the value of the differences between men and women and to revel in those distinctions even as I cherish the arenas in which we are almost interchangeable. A world of new sites has swung into focus within this relationship, one in which anything is possible, literally and figuratively. The trust, joy, laughter, intellectual challenge, mind reading, and mind expansion that are always available on the menu of our lives has transformed my feelings about men. It no longer matters how I used to see them; it only matters that I have lived long enough for this to become real. I appreciate you, Chuck.
Barbara, thanks for your thoughtful comments. You continue to be an inspiration! I’ve always seen you as someone willing to learn, grow and transform.