My family at my nephew Jon’s wedding
Tomorrow morning,
my sister Ann is picking me up in order to take me to the eye hospital .
My sisters ( and sister in law ) have always been in my corner
Always my support.
I come from a family of wonderful matriarchs
This is common with gay men
Women have always featured strongly in my life
My sisters, my grandmothers, my family friends
My personal female friends and aunts and nieces ( in law)
They dominate my psychi
And my life
And I’m all the better for their control and influence
Ann always walks me to my car when I leave her house,
She says goodbye with a certain care
And I value it,
So much
Women are usually instinctively empathetic.
ReplyDeleteWell, apart from my mother 🙄
It is good that you have so many in your corner when you need them.
They are emotionally and behaviourally empathetic in general
DeleteThere's another woman here who's in your corner. I can't walk you to your car, take you for the eye injections and hold your hand. I can't give you a physical hug, drop off some food when you're under the weather, dog/cat sit when you go away. But, I celebrate the highs with you and sympathise the lows.
ReplyDeleteGood luck for tomorrow. I hope the Valium works well, and the person giving the injection is extremely skilled and gentle with you. xx
That's a lovely comment HH, I think a lot of us feel that way 🙂
DeleteFrom one Kath to another, thanks for the endorsement! xx
DeleteI’m in tears right now, not just from my painful eye
DeleteXx👁️👁️👁️🩷🩷🩷🩷
A good man attracts good women. And it doesn't matter whether or not they are family - but it is a special bonus and joy when they are.
ReplyDeleteLove shows itself in the small things, like always walking you to your car. Not on grand gestures, which are usually empty, but in the details and minutae. God bless all the Gray family girls, and I hope they keep posing for such joyful photos!
That is beautifully written and gratefully accepted x
DeleteWhat a great family of women.
ReplyDeleteAin’t that the truth
DeleteI think many families are held together with the emotional glue of wonderful matriarchs.....whether gay families or not..... my husband came from such a family....and many of my friends have....one commonality all of those have...is that when the matriarch passes.....the family just entirely loses that nurturing glue that binds them....and they fall apart. I've known many such...... you are fortunate to be surrounded in your life by loving people.....loving women especially!
ReplyDeleteSusan M/ Calif.
I guess matriarchs are not necessary as long as there’s love in a family
DeleteBut women add a dimension to a man’s life for sure
My Dad was the only son. His Dad was away in WW2. His Mum and big sister were there for him. His big sister was his protector. When his Dad came home on leave, my Dad was gifted with two more sisters, lol. He didn't have his Dad under the roof again until 1946.
ReplyDeleteGranda was a fisherman and gone for long periods. His Mum and sisters were his guide, protectors, caregivers. He felt that a woman could do anything she wanted because that's what he saw.
He always told me not to date a man prettier than me. He also paid for my white wedding and when that failed, he said he'd pay for my first divorce.
He was also a huge advocate of women having their own bank accounts because as he put it "you never know when you might need to leave".
His friends at work were gay (back then all the window dressers were), he was a carpenter. He was just happy when his friends found love and companionship.
He was ahead of his times in many of his outlooks.
I loved this comment
DeleteChatty and quite lovely
Same.
ReplyDeleteI've always been mama's boy and I've always been surrounded by fab women.
XOXO
Most gay men have x
DeleteI adore my sister...she is strong and independent.
ReplyDeleteNice🩷
DeleteFamily is everything. I'm glad Ann is always there for you. Having her with you at the eye hospital will ensure everything goes well.
ReplyDeleteAt every difficult time she has been there, I remember at my divorce mediation she frightened the prof by sitting in the car park
DeleteSweet to have such a fun and supportive family and I love the photo of y'all at your nephew's wedding.
ReplyDeleteWishing you well tomorrow and am glad Ann will be with you.
Hugs!
Cheers babs
DeleteNothing is more important than family! Cali
ReplyDeleteAnd friends
DeleteI’m so glad you have such wonderful sisters! That’s a gift! I’m sending you love and BIG hugs. Carol in Atlanta 💝
ReplyDelete🥰🥰🥰🤞🏻🩷
DeleteMore men need to value and appreciate the women in their lives.
ReplyDeleteI think most would if pushed
DeleteYou are obviously a highly intelligent man, as you value the women in your life:) You're lucky to have such wonderful sisters. Mine suck.
ReplyDeleteYou are very astute pixie lol
DeleteI was brought-up by women up until the age of 14, after which it was mostly men. Those women in my life were all lovely people; most of the later men weren't.
ReplyDeleteAnd they were huge influencers cro
DeleteThey all sound wonderful. Strong, caring and much loved.
ReplyDeleteAnd the likes of the female villagers and friends in later life have been equally important
DeleteDo you think perhaps that's why you were drawn to nursing? A profession where the bigger percentage is women? You feel more comfortable in that company? Best of luck at the eye hospital. xx
ReplyDeleteI have always had an emotional intelligence , even when I was a child ,
DeleteHope that the eye jab goes better this time! Glad you have your sister with you.
ReplyDelete👀👀👀👀👁️
DeleteJust from reading your blog John, why on earth would people not love you, whether family or others? If I lived near to you then I would hope to be a ‘helicopter’ support friend as well. Thankfully estranged from my tw*t of a brother and remembering the other brother who died too young, you fill a gap that they cannot, thank you. Jan in Castle Gresley
ReplyDeleteJan in Castle Gresley
So sweet, thank u x
DeleteYou are fortunate indeed to have a large group of people to look after you. Women tend to take over and take charge.
ReplyDeleteAnd men don’t? Lol
DeleteMy husband had 5 sisters who really watched out for him, taught him how to deal with bullies, and most important how to treat a woman. Hope your eye appt. Went well and nice to have your sister along for moral support. Gigi
ReplyDeleteAnd typical of her, she brought me a bottle of water and a packed lunch
DeleteI'm fortunate to have 3 supportive sisters. As you say, it's a great thing to have family , to my regret I've been a bit slow to realise that x
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
Better late than never dearHeart
DeleteI'm lucky to have my siblings (one sister and 2 brothers) all living in the same city as I do. We always pitch in to help each other when needed. Hope your eye appointment went smoothly and you are resting now.
ReplyDeleteI sore and blurry eyed
DeleteA grandmother, an Aunt,
ReplyDeleteGrandmothers are a special breed, very special
DeleteKeith Richards, guitarist of the Rolling Stones, has spoken many times and very lovingly of the matriarchy he grew up in. His mother and aunts primarily. I have no doubt that it's one of the reasons he has been married to his wife for over forty years.
ReplyDeleteWomen teach you emotional intelligence
DeleteAmong other things.
DeleteSo indeed
Deletei also had a hospital visit today (which i'll blog about tomorrow) - suffice to say i hope yours was as painless and trouble free, and positive as mine, and i hope your car parking charges were less than the three fifty it costs us every time we go - aren't hospital car parks free in Wales?
ReplyDeleteThey are indeed as is my prescriptions
DeleteThat's a bargain! Took the husband to emergency and wound up paying $21 for four hours
DeletePeople always make a big deal about a father's influence in a boy's life, but I think most decent men have strong mothers too. Women can teach boys a lot about respect and compassion.
ReplyDeleteNicely put…..men have their place and for me it was my grandfather and brother in law that gave me my role models
DeleteI agree. For me it is my sister.
ReplyDelete🙏🥰
DeleteThat is brave and yet necessary to undergo the eye jab. Great to hear you have several strong and caring women/matriarchs in your family. My sons and I are very close which is a blessing all around.
ReplyDelete🤞🏻🩷👀👀👀👁️🌈🥲
DeleteMy daughter does that, it feels very caring.
ReplyDeleteThat seems to be the case in Louisiana also.. strong women, influencers, advisors, etc
ReplyDelete