While I grew up, I was intrigued by how philosophers, writers and poets described women as creatures of mystery, how they saw a woman's brain so complicated and her needs unattainable. I remember thinking back then that we must be very hard to handle.
But as I grew up, I thought they must be writing about other creatures, sure they are not talking about us. We are very simple, we want simple stuff and yes, we could be pleased easily. It wasn’t until the famous book: "Men from Mars, Women from Venus" was released that I started to look at this subject in a different way, we are different. We do speak different languages, but to think that men and women inhabited the earth for millions of years, and yet they haven't established a code for translation by now?
Regardless of the age, marital status or social standard, a little attention and appreciation goes a long way with almost every woman (ok, we have to exclude the psychos, the materialistic and any time during our monthly period) we all thrive for attention and are killed by neglect, there, it’s so simple.
The key is observing that women do make tremendous efforts to please people around her, the Egyptian woman is the good companion, the best friend and the obedient daughter, she could have a great career, be a great cook, raise successful children, look out for her husband's needs and yet have time to soothe a friend or attend to her parents. Noticing a woman's daily battles to please everyone are sometimes more precious than a diamond ring or a new car, when she is acknowledged for what she does, when she is appreciated, when she is noticed, this gives her the power and strength she needs to go on.
Now I'm not talking about a boyfriend noticing a new haircut or a pair of jeans, (although I admit it’s great to notice this too), but I am talking about a middle class woman who has no maid; no driver and no cook, working all day to put her share in the income, cleaning, cooking and taking care of the kids, when her husband takes the tea from her after supper and tells her thank you, it’s enough to erase all the day's hardship and sufferings. When a mother takes care of her little toddlers, patiently tolerating their tantrums and their demands, when she puts them to bed and they cling their little hands around her neck for an extra hug before they drift to sleep, it’s enough to put a big smile on her face and take another day. I am talking about an old woman who spent her life beside her husband sharing his ups and downs, standing by him till he got his break at work or a big promotion, the instant he looks at her with gratitude she feels appreciated, then suddenly all the tiredness is gone and she is happy and willing to do more. I am talking about a bride giving up the dream of a completely furnished house, standing by her fiancée who has no money, till they pay the last installments, till they could really say they have a home, the minute he walks in with a gold necklace to replace the one she sold to help him, she beams with happiness and I bet she'd probably sell it again if he needed anything else. There are a million daily examples of how Egyptian women act and how they are willing to sacrifice.
So, women are very humble, they are full of love and they want nothing more than to see their beloved happy and successful, women nurture spontaneously, they are responsible by instinct, they forget hardships by nature and the only thing that really matters is that they have done a good job.
This is the Egyptian woman, very easy to please, very giving even if she had no one to take care of her or appreciate her; she still has the desire to give continuously and endlessly.
So, I don’t think men should be confused about how to please the women in their lives. They just have to learn to tune in, once a day, once a week or even once a month, this makes us recharge our batteries, dig up a new strength and move the world. So, be it a long stemmed red rose, a message or phone call during the day, or a hug at the end of the day, we really need it and really appreciate it because it means we really matter to someone out there.
