101 Things I Will Teach My Sons
- Keep your sheets clean.
- Keep your socks cleaner.
- Keep your fingernails cleanest.
- Don’t call her crazy.
- She’s not crazy.
- Hold the door.
- Pay for her dinner.
- You’re not entitled to anything in life.
- Learn how to iron.
- Learn how to cook.
- You’re allowed to feel.
- Know your strengths.
- Know your weaknesses.
- Use them wisely.
- Your undershirts have a shelf life.
- It’s three months.
- You need to moisturize.
- Your friends don’t have to know about it.
- You don’t have to like Call of Duty.
- Cheetos aren’t a food group.
- That woman is photoshopped.
- But so is that man.
- Be kind to the nerdy girl.
- That was once your mother.
- Tailor the suit.
- Shine the shoes.
- Be gentle to the world.
- Clean your messes.
- Help clean others’ messes.
- Chaos is the order of the universe.
- Take a razor to it if it’s sparse.
- Take Occam’s razor to it if it’s hairy.
- Walk her home and tuck her in.
- That girl is your sister, your mother, your daughter.
- That skirt isn’t an invitation to stare.
- It’s a skirt.
- Cologne is not multiple choice.
- Axe is not one of those choices.
- Ponytails are not for everyone.
- Read Austen.
- Empathy is wealth.
- You owe the world as much as it gave to you.
- It’ll tell you how much that is if you listen closely.
- That flower tattoo from high school is not a confession of her character.
- How you react to someone’s story is a confession of yours.
- Some are horror stories.
- Be interested in people.
- Masculine and impervious are not synonyms.
- Know how much you don’t know.
- Your brilliance lies in the confession of your ignorance.
- Think yourself into oblivion on occasion.
- When in doubt, buy the peonies.
- So what if she’s taller than you are?
- So what if she’s smarter than you are?
- It takes two to tango.
- Madness is the reality.
- A woman is a real woman.
- Curves don’t validate.
- Lipstick isn’t scary.
- Watch her do her makeup.
- Appreciate nuances.
- Simplicity is sometimes too glorified.
- Simplicity is sometimes everything.
- Know when to tell the difference.
- Eat well.
- Eat often.
- Hatred comes in many flavors.
- None of them are good for you.
- Feminism is simple.
- Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
- Travel alone.
- Wanderlust is not selfish.
- Stay in questionable places.
- Tell me you’re at a nice hotel.
- Meet the world.
- Never leave it.
- Grow a ponytail.
- Make me lie to you about liking it.
- Relieve me when you cut it off.
- Arrogance is assuming one reality.
- You don’t feel more because you have more money.
- You don’t know more because you’ve seen more.
- Wisdom is humble.
- Meet a once-in-a-lifetime kind of girl.
- Let her break you.
- Let her see right through you.
- Feel scared.
- Feel her power.
- Marvel at her like you marvel at the top of a mountain.
- Be the kind of man she marvels at.
- Be protective.
- Be defensive.
- Be sensitive.
- Let her be.
- She’s powerful.
- She’s brilliant.
- She’s a moth in a hurricane.
- She’s your calm in the storm.
- She’s your equal.
- She’s everything you love about the world.
- She’s every woman you meet.
featured image – Lookcatalog