Can We Talk About Man Colds For A Second?

I have a confession.

I am a horrible caretaker when my husband isn’t feeling well.

Now – in my defense, when he’s been through surgery, or when he’s thrown his back out, or say – if he were visibly bleeding or there was a bone sticking out of his body or something, I’m a pretty decent caretaker in those instances. But when Mr. Mock has a cold?

I’m the worst.

I know this about myself, and I want to be better, but I have NO PATIENCE for man colds. I think it’s because I generally see Mr. Mock as a manly masculine man. I see him as strong, and handy, and a fixer of problems. He takes care of his family. He’s a DUDE.

But when Mr. Mock gets a cold? His manly masculinity vanishes. He seems pitiful and weak and puny and I feel like he could sprout a manbun at any moment.  And the worst part about the majority of his colds is that there is no visible sign of a cold. He gets these colds where there are no sniffles, no fevers, no outward signs of anything wrong – but he just insists he feels like crap and behaves as though the world is coming to an end. I know he wants my sympathy, he wants affection and sweetness and pity, but I always find myself thinking, “JUST SUCK IT UP, for crying out loud. BE A MAN. You’re not even SNIFFLING.”

I recognize this as a personal character flaw, but I can’t seem to fix it.

That’s why I so appreciated finding this post about man colds, because I realized this is a universal issue.

So it’s not just me, is what I’m saying.  And that makes me feel a little less awful.

Shout out to our female readers – do you all have this problem too?