To the women, on Women's day

You bring us into this world, what a gift.  And our masculine thanks might be felt at times, but mostly I recognize how we forget to be grateful.  Today I am grateful because you have taught me most of the important things I need to know.  
You have taught me how important it is to never give up despite the pain.  You have taught me that education is not power but a strategy to thrive among the power dependent.  You have taught me that love is not found between the legs or in a bra, but in the heart, eyes, and actions.  You have taught me about loneliness and how clinging to you keeps me from becoming a man.  You have taught me to cherish by being so attractive that it hurts not to have you around.  You have taught me how insecure I am by your intelligence, wisdom, resilience, and independence.  You have taught me the importance of adjusting, by refusing to accept my dysfunctional qualities.  You have taught me to pray.  You have taught me how to be a  man, because my desire to be a good man is driven by my desire to be grateful to you.

Please forgive men who have still not recognized how important it is to appreciate what you bring to our lives.  Please forgive me for the marginalizing, my prejudice, and my carelessness displayed by my adolescence.  Please continue to know that your understanding and perspective on life, us men, and our future is critical to the symbiosis of our existence.

Thank you...to name a few:
Francesca
Margaret
Bernadette
Elizabeth
Julie
Josie
Michaela
Carmela
Alyson
Michele
Catalina
Jennifer
Cristina
Stephanie

for being extraordinary women.