Hi everyone, I don't know if you remember me but I posted on here as well as in TRP a while back. I have a story to share that kind of woke me up to the role of masculinity in males, from first hand experience with my dad.

I'm 17 years old and through out my life, about 4-5 people that my parents have been close to have died. When my mom's sister died of cancer 2 years ago, my mom couldn't stop crying and screaming and even at 3 in the morning we could hear her pacing the entire house.

Every single one of those times, my dad tried to sit next to her, holding her hand or bringing her tissues or telling her that there's no reason to cry (after a few days) and that she should just think about the good memories.

3 days ago, we got a call that my dad's father passed away at 78. My mom, like before could not stop crying to the point that she was just laying on the floor incoherant. I was so scared of how she was acting because as a kid, you look to your parents for support and strength. You think, if I can't handle this emotional turmoil, I know my parents can do it. When you see your mom at her weakest point, you get so scared.

Anyway, when I saw my mom on the ground curled into a ball crying, I went to look for my dad to try to find some emotional strength from him. When I walked by the bathroom in his bedroom, I could hear the bathtub running but when I put my ear near the door, I could hear my poor father sobbing quietly.

I swear, my heart broke for him then. He knew how we'd react if we saw him collapse. He kept us together ALL this time, keeping his emotions in check so that we could freely express ours. Even when he wasn't strong enough to keep his emotions dormant for us, he hid out in the house to make sure we didn't see him at his lowest. He wanted to leave the vision of strength for us. For that I'm so grateful for my dad and what he thought me about what it is to be a man.