Fathering children who are not your own

The end of the semester is at hand....yipeeee!  I am free for a bit of the young people (almost adults) with whom I work.  There is a lot of fathering going around here though as the semester comes to and end.  I guess in this scenario, I am the mother. 

One of the many fathers around here, chewed out a student who is quite immature who hadn't been coming to class.  He told me he did this after he heard from me that the student wasn't coming to my class.  Not sure if said student will be straightening up, but he did come to class for a while...no sign of him today. 

Father number 2, scolded a student for turning in late work and not all of it.  He gently asked her if she remembered the discussion that they had had at the beginning of the semester about things she needed to do to over come some of her difficulties with school, then he mercifully let her leave his office.  She left pretty quickly after a comment from him about it being really difficult for her to pass given circumstances.  Father number two also said he had defended me to his class because I didn't give them credit for partly finished work.  I had covered his classes a couple of times. 

Father number three, one of the cowboys, was explaining to another student what his role as a teacher was and why he was there.  Mostly about it being his job to help them learn about how to get horses to cooperate.  All three of the fathers have children of their own.  Pretty lucky children I would say and pretty lucky students, even though the students probably wouldn't say that.

I find, yet again, I liking swimming in the sea of positive testosterone that flows so freely about me. 

Dolls

I didn't play much with dolls when I was growing up.  I had a couple I loved all the hair off of when I was very young, but I kind of grew out of them.  I laughed at Toy Story with Barbie and Ken.   The creators of the movie said that Ken was more of an accessory for Barbie than a man. errr. toy (hmmm...is there a subliminal message there?)  In our house Barbie dated GI Joe with the Kung Fu grip.  I guess she wanted a real man too, at least in our house she did.

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPxHWJF3VGs

So I ran across these old commercials for dolls:  none of which I had, but they made me laugh.

This baby laughs a lot!  Maniacal, crazy laughter, baby is a bit scary!

Baby Laughs A Lot















http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5kvenmWEhFE

Baby whispers only to you! Hopefully baby isn't like Chuckie and encouraging unacceptable behavior.

Baby Secret

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3SlqsLto-xA

A drooling pet dog...now there's something to love!

Lovin' Licks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8H-pwBYmRvQ

Enjoy!

Barbie

Do guys really want woman to look like Barbie anymore?  Is she passe?  I saw there is a new model that people are calling the living Barbie.  If she were really a living Barbie, she would be 5'9" tall, have a 39" bust, an 18" waist, 33" hips and a size 3 shoe, weigh 110 pounds and have a BMI of 16.24.  Would that be attractive to anybody?

I once remember reading an article about advice a personal trainer would give to the female Disney characters.,  If I recall correctly most of them needed to work out their upper bodies and gain weight.

Watched any old black and white movies lately?  Those women were skinny!  Do you think they weren't eating, or did they just have super, battle armor girdles on?

I am a huge fan of Craig Ferguson, he makes me laugh...a lot.  He talked about woman who are too skinny, he doesn't want to cuddle up with a bag of bones.  My kind of guy! I am not overweight by any means, but I don't have a BMI of 16.24 either...closer to 22, like a real woman should.

Used to be men were attracted to woman without tans (proved they didn't have to work outside all day) with Rubenesque figures (a little wider in the hip and little fuller in the bust).  Now you hear more about HWP (height weight proportional).  Is that closer to Barbie or Rubens? 

Just a few things I was pondering today.  In my line of work the guys are attracted to the woman that can carry a heavy load on a five mile hike...I don't see 5'9", 110 pound Barbie doing that...she'd probably tip over or not be able to stand up!  I'm lucky that I haven't had to deal with the body image issues that so many young woman have to deal with today!

The Alpha Male

The term "alpha male" has been rather popular lately, guys seem to like taking that title and owning it, whether they are telling me about a near fight they got into or why it is that their bratty children shape up when they come into the room, when only moments before they were throwing a fit that their mother couldn't stop.  It's always said with a bit of a smile or maybe a smirk, maybe there is a bit of a brag to their words. Men can be rather obvious creatures sometimes...giggle.

More feminine moments

This is getting very weird and I am so out of my element.  I have never been what might be considered pretty.  I don't think I ever have been told that I am pretty and certainly not beautiful.  I have had my share of compliments about certain things, but for the most part I have always been the smart one.

Last night I went to an small party...maybe 20 people...I put on a dress and heels and curled my hair.  Those people at the party who know me asked if I like getting dressed up since I don't have cause to do that very often...that's how rare it is for me.  At one point, all the women were sitting at the table talking, and where was I?  I was surrounded by all the men at the party...yep...every single one of them.  They were telling me jokes and we were laughing.  It was good moment, if very brief, to be the focus of all that masculine attention.  It was innocent and lovely and quite good for my ego...now, if I could just have that happen with a group of single men :-). 

Cowboy Moments

Here are some cowboy moments from my day...just a few conversations I had yesterday:

I was walking down the sidewalk towards the door at the same time a cowboy was coming from the other direction.

"You going in there?"  He asked.

"Yes," says I.

He takes a step back so he can open the door for me.

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome!"

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I was talking to another cowboy about movies old and new.

"I hate those movies where is takes them 15 minutes to say, "I'm going to kill you" because of all the foul language they have to use to say it!" Said the cowboy.

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One of our co-workers was telling the story of a switching one of her cousins received as a child from a mother who didn't usually spank.  The cowboy who is always talking about making a horse enjoy working with you and convincing them to cooperate came in to catch the tail end of the story and says "A switch, huh?  That'll get your attention."

Not sure if he spoke from personal experience, but it seems like he might have.

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Just a few things that made me smile yesterday.

Being touched

I have always been a take care of myself kind of gal, I can do what needs to be done, but lately I have been examining the more feminine side of myself.  I am more drawn to wearing dresses, although, jeans are still work attire.  I work outside a lot and in all kinds of conditions, so the dresses and skirts are not dragged out that often.  I think about it though.  I think my femininity is starting to show more.  I am still capable and competent and take charge, just more feminine. 

So, here's the thing, the men I know, have started touching me more.  They are not intimate touches, not creepy or inappropriate...it is more like a hand on the back or a squeeze of the arm.  I think I may be putting out those feminine vibes and they are picking up on it.  I can't think of anything different that I am doing.  The men I am working with hasn't changed, they are just now more...affectionate?  attentive? protective?  Not sure what the right word is.  Yesterday I was at a public event, and afterwards me and two men were cleaning up, they both reached out in some way to touch me, kindly....not sure I get it, but I kind of like it.

So you ladies who might be reading this, any clues on why this is just starting to happen?  Does this ever happen to you?  And to you guys who might be reading this...what inspires you to reach out and touch a woman? 

Curious minds want to know.