Women won’t do this
Yesterday, while taking a walk, I stopped to watch some roofers. My complex is getting a new roof and these guys have been up there working nearly every day this summer.
I began noticing how physically intense that work must be for those guys. They are up there on their knees, slinging hammers, ripping stuff off — and they’re doing all of this during a crazy hot summer in direct sun?
That’s crazy.
I don’t know how these guys are doing this every day and then wake up the next morning and doing it all over again.
As I moved on to continue my walk, I started thinking.
Last year I had a water leak that required me to remodel my entire first story. I had a nonstop stream of contractors every day. And it was a very dirty, chaotic, messy, complicated situation. A lot of hard physical labor went into getting my home restored.
On top of that, I had a new air conditioner installed that had to be installed in the attic through a hole in the ceiling of my master closet. I still don’t know how those guys pulled that off.
All of the contractors I had were men.
The work they do is oftentimes hard, heavy, dirty physical labor, and seemingly, none of it ever goes as planned. They are constantly running into extra problems that have to be fixed, dealt with, or worked around. So the work is never easy. Or fun.
And yet these men have committed themselves to these careers. This is what they choose to do every day, and even though the work is often tedious and exhausting, they wake up and do it again the next day.
And they do it with sore backs, cuts, scapes, tired hands and knees that don’t bend like they used to.
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A sense of duty
I am sure there are female electricians, plumbers, sewer workers, or trash collectors, but I’ve never met one or seen one. I’ve known a few women who went into the police academy or who completed fireman training, but none of those women stayed long.
But men do.
Men typically go into these professions and stay in them for many years — even when the job is very difficult, physically intense, or dangerous.
I talk to all these contractors because I’m intrigued by their stories. I always ask, how long have you been doing this? Do you enjoy it?
And that’s where it gets interesting.
Sometimes the man doesn’t love the job. Or maybe he’s bored by it or frustrated that every job is tedious, but he sticks it out and makes it work.
I noticed a theme with these men.
They stay in these jobs out of a sense of duty. Sometimes they have a family to provide for. Othertimes it’s because it makes them a good living so they can have the family they desire.
This is what I find so impressive about these men. They know what is most important to them. They will struggle and suffer through something that is not fun or easy, simply because it gives them the life that they want to give to their loved ones.
At some point, these men mention their family and their children and how important it is to be a provider for them and give them a good life. This is when they light up the most.
Hard days and a beaten-up body is worth it for these men to buy their kid a new bike or take the family on a trip to the mountains.
And when their boss is a jerk or they have lousy coworkers, they don’t quit and change careers — they tend to go out on their own and start up their own business.
Nothing stops them.
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Men make our lives possible
If men weren’t doing these jobs, would we be able to rely on women to be trash collectors, steel workers, and AC installers? Would women sign up to be police officers in the most dangerous parts of town, and to work on our electrical power lines that keep our homes and businesses running?
The men who do these jobs, who are on the front lines, are the ones who are making our lives possible.
Life is not going to be easy if we don’t have plumbers, electricians, construction workers, sewer workers, mechanics, miners, masons, loggers… all of these jobs provide goods and services that make life livable and pleasant for us.
Let’s not forget the jobs that are incredibly stressful and dangerous like firemen and policemen, who keep us all safe. I don’t see a lot of women with a strong drive to protect, serve, and be a hero when duty calls.
These men are making life possible for us because they are doing work that few others want to do.
So if you like having a car that works, a roof that doesn’t leak, electricity, working plumbing, trash that magically disappears, and someone to call when your house catches on fire, you can thank a man for that.
It’s a mark of good character to do the job few others will take on and to do it well every day. So I applaud the men who make these professions their lifelong careers and who do them well.
I hope you thank the men who do this work when you see them. Never take for granted those who make our lives easier — not to mention livable. ❤
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You can follow my series on Things I Adore about Men on Instagram. ❤
If you know a man in a profession where he’s doing intense, dangerous or hard labor that most people don’t want to do, please share this story with him so I can express my recognition and gratitude for making the world go round and making a massive difference in our quality of life.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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From The Good Men Project on Medium
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Photo credit: Raze Solar on Unsplash
