There is a list going around the internet, “25 Skills Every Man Should Know: The List, Ready for Your Debate.” Some of the items in the list are right-on: build a campfire, change the oil and filter, and paddle a canoe. Greg corrected my canoe maneuvering before we married, and that was very romantic. It’s just the way I like things.

Since I am raising several girls, I will tell them that there are certain essential man qualities one should look for in a mate. [Actually, I probably won’t say much as every man will be measured against their dad, and well, I just feel sorry for all of them… Greg can fly a plane, build a house, launch rockets, and manage a small herd of children in the check-out lane.] My girls will hopefully esteem character above everything else, but you know, if you want some heat in your marriage, it helps to marry a guy who can build a fire. I also like my man to open the pickle jar. I’m just saying.

There are some qualities on the list that I’ll tell them to bypass, like “hook up an HDTV”, but really, there are still some fun things here that I like to leave to the guys. Maybe it’s because I’m still a romantic at heart or maybe it’s a reaction against our gender neutral society that hates God’s natural order—whatever the case, it’s just cool when women let the guys change the oil. What’s more—guys like us to like them changing the oil. But shhhh, they’re not allowed to tell you that anymore!

This is all in fun, of course. But what about the ladies? Are there certain skills they should know? What’s important and what isn’t? Off the top of my head, I’m thinking they should know: CPR, how to use jumper cables, basic self-defense moves, how to have a debate without getting personally offended, and how to stay germ-free in a public restroom.

Now, there are some things everyone should learn sometime, like #6 on the list: Back up a trailer. I met some of our new neighbors up in Kentucky while trying out this skill. I actually meant to do this. So, Greg crosses his fingers and lets me off the property with the trailer, and well, I certainly didn’t surprise him with the kerfluffle I found myself in—down a skinny lane on someone’s private property with an entourage of ATV’s, dogs, and traffic coming at me. I’m not usually an idiot.

So the guys pull up to me after seeing that I wasn’t doing some kind of three-point backup, “Hey, how good are ya at backing that thing up?” I had to tell them that this was my first time driving a trailer and that I hadn’t practiced going in reverse yet. They got a good laugh and suggested a field way down yonder for me to turn around in so that I wouldn’t have to back up. Now, if I were a guy, I bet they would’ve been less amused and more bewildered and just told me to back up the thing. But I’m a girl so it was all good.