My husband once drove forty minutes back to a gas station because I left my good sunglasses on the counter, and I married him all over again. That is wholesome masculinity to me: a man who just shows up.

A full suit to meet a newborn because first impressions matter, and honey, I wore sweatpants to my own baby shower. Get your tissues and your snack drawer ready for the rest.

Uber could never.


Q4 goals: remain on payroll.




Some guys buy a boat. This guy bought a neighborhood.


Lunch break: four minutes, standing up, over a toolbox.


Therapy is expensive. Looking at heavy machinery is free.


Tie-tying is the gateway life skill.


Finally, accountability. For the turkey club.


Tough dog. Tougher emotional support bear.


Step one: become the man of your own dreams. Step two: get a cave.






Off duty, on snack patrol.


Rooting for you, day 234. See you at 235.


They also did the dishes. Put them on a stamp.
I am a sucker for the good dads in here, and for the men who act like dads to somebody who isn’t even theirs. Waiting at the same bus stop every night like it’s church counts double in my book. My own daddy never once said I love you on the phone, but he checked my tire pressure every Christmas, and that is the same sentence. These heartwarming stories make me want to call home and get fussed at about my oil change.
The strangers are what got me. Two policemen cooked supper for five kids and then did the dishes, and I don’t even do my own dishes the same night. Neighbors pulling a man out of a fire, an officer bringing snacks to the porch after his shift: that is faith in humanity restored, at least until I read the comments. I skipped those and went straight back to the man whose big dog carries a Pooh bear.
What gets me is how unfancy all of it is. Nobody here gave a speech or rented a billboard. They waited, they carried, they cooked, they kept a picture in a wallet. Maybe that’s the whole definition: love that looks a whole lot like chores, done by somebody who never once asked for credit.
Somebody go thank the man who fixed your sink, and send him home with a plate.
If your heart still has room, By Order of My Therapist, I’m Only Reading Wholesome News This Week is the perfect next stop, and 25 Wholesome Memes About The Kindness of Strangers will finish the job. Keep the tissues close and the snacks closer.





