A few things my daughter will know about men:

• They make mistakes. Real men will do their best to correct them. Real men also say, "I'm sorry."
• Not all men give up when situations are difficult. A man worthy of your time definitely won't. 
• The best men will not take your shit. They will also understand when something is important to you and will strive to understand why, even if it seems like you're just throwing them said shit.
• They will open your door. Not because they think you need them to do so, but because they want to show you that they treasure you and want to do nice things.

This is why I DON'T wear makeup, guys.

I keep thinking of this picture I saw recently of a girl's before and after. It was titled "This is why we wear makeup, guys."

It kind of pissed me off.

When I first wore makeup, it was for my mom. Part of Filipino culture holds a lot of a girl's worth to her prettiness. When I was Pooka's age, nine, she tried to make me start. I refused, although she made me wear it for pictures. 

Then I wore it to make others see me as pretty, then to make better tips.

Now, though, I wear it when I want to, a few times a year. If I'm not wearing it for me, then I'm not wearing it at all. My mom tried to tell me at nine that I needed it to be pretty; I love this piece of a GoodMenProject.com article saying I don't need it to be beautiful.

No excuses

I have always despised the "boys will be boys" excuse. When everyone else was saying, "He's just trying to get your attention because he has a crush on you," my dad was saying, "Who cares if he likes you? Do you want to be with a boy who hits girls?"

That's what I tell Pooka: Who wants to be with a boy who shows his feelings that way?

And that's what I'm teaching Boy: Do you like when people hit or yell at you? Then don't do it to them or they'll avoid being with you.

It's Been A While...

I've been ghost-writing other people's blogs and haven't made time to write anything much as myself. Even my FB is sad and full of shared posts. I am surrounded by the words of others in many ways lately. I am one of the leads of a full-length feature film being created in Idaho. It's so amazing to act again, and I'm so grateful. It also reminds me, though, that I have stories to share, too, from my own heart and mind. Thankfully, the script is fantastic, full of emotion and realism, so the acting is filling some long empty creative spaces.

That said, sometimes when I can't sleep I'll think about a couple of novels I've been writing for years. I'll play out different scenes in my head, wondering what will make them good enough for others to read and like. Then, the next morning, I'll get too "busy" to jot anything down.

It's got to stop.

I have 1.5 posts I have to finish for a client tonight and then I'm going to write my own words.