Mentors

Thinking about getting all the good men I know into my son's life so he can see the many ways of being a man. His Dad's an excellent dad and excellent man, but it's good to have him know many ways of living. When I was growing up, I wished I'd known more women of my mom's age who were taking a path like my mom, but also taking a path completely unlike my mom, would have given me a richness I didn't have.

I remember a friend of my mom's who was an artist and actually was very physically fit, very beautiful in a bohemian way and one time when we all went on a sailboat trip and set up a picnic on a beach on a beautiful day, the men all had a beer and this woman, Marge, drank one too and I was really shocked by this, since my mom never drank. I thought this beer-drinking physically fit woman artist was really cool. It gave me something to imagine as a life ... and maybe is not that far from mine now. She also had four kids and wasn't as invested in them as my mom. She had a life and a husband and kids, but they all balanced out better than my mom's life -- no outside outlets, just us and a not-so-happy marriage. Later today, I'll have a beer, just to toast this woman Marge and thank her for showing me another way to be.