Manhood Must Have Been Easier Back Then

What did you do if you were a man 150 years ago? I suspect that you got up, grunted at your wife, fed the stock, and headed out to the fields. Maybe you fixed some machinery if it was a rainy day. By late morning, somebody probably brought lunch out to you. Then you got behind the team again, made a gutteral noise of some sort, and off you went. Good till dinner, which was also prepared for you. You might have made an effort to relate to your family, but we don't know that for sure.

Now let's talk about masculinity in 2009. First, you teach all your classes for the day, which includes everything from 5th grade to sophomores. You try to do creative things because it gives your students another reason to stay awake. But Friday is a heavy class day, and you have a headache by the end of it.

You sit down at the computer and cram lesson plans for an hour and a half or so. You know that your wife is going to Women's Retreat this weekend, and you will be the primary source of adultness for your many wonderful children. So you must get those lesson plans done efficiently. But a parent stops by and wants to learn Latin pronunciation. You teach her... you are, after all, glad that she wants to learn. A colleague calls your cell twice because he is trying to find the home of someone who just moved. It does not bother you. In fact, it is nice to be regarded as someone who would know how to get it found -- and quick.

The time evaporates. You must pick up your oldest son from Grandpa's house in time to pick up your other three children from a friend's home in distant southwest. You make it only a few minutes late, but it doesn't matter because they are all outside playing in the back yard. You load your children, bring them home, and feed them dinner. They all eat appropriately. There is essentially none left...enough for the cats to nibble some meat scraps, but that's it.

After supper you change your gear and then try to head outside. As you are loading the children in the trailer to go to the park, it is discovered that your daughter has soiled her diaper. You are not dismayed by this, because you are a thoroughly modern daddy in every sense and therefore can change diapers without undue strain. So you do. Your daughter finds herself a different pair of jeans to put on over the diaper. You marvel at this, as you could hardly be expected to recognize a pair of your own jeans, much less hers.

Later on, neighbor boys come over to play with yours. You are happy about this and aware that when these boys come over to play, you have opportunities to introduce Christ to them. You treasure these opportunities.

You eventually put all four of your children to bed and later you blog. Masculinity remix 2009. What a strange time in history.