Still More Successions

Have you ever stopped to think about the people who come in and out of your life? There are those who for reasons sometimes unexplained, we have a connection with for a time to fit the purpose for that moment, and then those people are gone only to be remembered years later with a smile and kind word or thought. Then, there are those with whom we seem to be thrown into interlocking soul bonds. Those are the people who even after years of separation, the conversation and connectedness picks up exactly where it left off - no time seems to have elapsed, and no walls seems to have been constructed. Each person adding a piece of the human you become in the time specified for the addition.

It seems that I reflect on these groups of people often lately.I have categorized them into groups of men; fathers, sons and brothers, and husbands/lovers... oops was husbands plural? Never-the-less, I will explain - or at least attempt an explanation. Sons and brothers are those who know you  enough to do some damage if they ever let the skeletons out of the closet, but because they love and want to protect their sisters/mothers they observe and only use the skeletons to tease and taunt - wait is it protection? Or, is it a bribe for later in life? Hmmmm interesting thought. Interestingly enough these guys are also observers- they watch and tactfully intimidate those who could never be good enough for their sisters/mothers, and - if all goes as planned- they observe the poor fellows walking away. If not as planned, the watch them walk right into the lives of their sisters and mothers and these guys soon become husbands or lovers. The brothers and sons have fought a losing battle.

Husbands/lovers/ significant others- call them what you may, they are an interesting group. In some regard, they are like the sons and brothers, because they too are skilled in bribery. These men often find a means to coax what they want from their women even if all they want is a little time for pleasant conversation. Sadly, they lack the insight that sons and brothers have and must work harder than any group to get to the heart of a woman and find the mechanism that pushes and presses the woman to give back to these men. However, what they lack in insight and skeletal luggage, they make up for in product yield if they make the initial investment of time and true effort. Once they prove they can grow this unyielding product, they must nurture and cultivate it in order to continue benefiting from the yield.

Fathers-- of fathers- there is no group like that of fathers. They are the of all other men. As young girls we look at our daddies and say, "Daddy, I want to marry you when I grow up." How sad it is that we don't listen to our inner little girl and find a mate who loves, honors, and protects us like our daddy. His eyes see past us and into the little girl he helped create, the young women he molded, and the adults we grew into. He hands guided- though sometimes no so gently- as we took those first steps and then as we stepped into the world. His words reprimanded but also offered wisdom we sometimes didn't recognize until years past the time of disbursement.  Most significantly- his arms... dad's arms provide a firm tug to steer us or a strong grasp to hold us. They offer protection and shelter. Again though, sometimes we act like silly females and don't realize all those arms offer.

If the brothers and sons are merely slightly younger and lesser experienced mirror images of fathers, why must the husbands/lovers be so far removed at times. Are they not also either brothers, sons, or fathers themselves? Of course, if we would cherish that  protection and that purity in love from that original Knight in shining armor of our lives-  if we would hold our fathers as a measuring stick that all other men must be compared, our hearts and minds would be more content and more fulfilled. Don't underestimate the power of the father. These men can set the precedents for almost all other relational skills a woman learns in life. Glean the knowledge and relish that love and the memories other men must slave to try and duplicate the heart of the girl who feels secure in her love.