What does it mean to be a real man?

I have my own thoughts on the subject, but I sat for 5 minutes this morning and opened up a magazine that I received in the mail (NGJ: No Greater Joy). The title of this blog entry is the headline on their Sept.-Oct. Magazine.
What I read inside the first page (written by Michael Pearl) summed up my "thoughts" so well that I wanted to share it with you, using his eloquent words.
Pearl prefaces his definition with the acknowledgement that the meaning may differ from one part of the country to the other and from one social group to another, but to sum it up he says...
"A real man is someone who does his duty and doesn't shun the hard work that is necessary in providing for all the needs of his family."
Pearl goes on to say, "A real man may never pick up a knife or a gun, or drive a tractor, or operate a chain saw, or do anything that requires being tough and burly. But he is still a real man if he does his duty with grace and fortitude, not crumbling under the load, always getting up when life and circumstances knock him down. A real man may not have tough hands, but he will have a tough spirit that rises to the high calling of duty. It is not about being macho; its about taking responsibility."

I am blessed to have met and married my real man.

Love you J.