New York City – The other night I was dining out with my daughter at a charming restaurant in the city, when I excused myself to go to the ladies room. When I walked in, I saw the young, blond, attractive seating hostess, who so cheerily welcomed us earlier, crying her eyes out. I was out of sight, but could hear what happened next. As she sobbed on her friend’s shoulder about her recent break-up with her boyfriend, I could hear her friend consoling her and offering supportive words of advice. Then a woman entered the scene – a total stranger – and stopped to ask what was wrong. From her tone, I could hear words of comfort and knew that there was a hug for her next. So there we were – all strangers in the ladies room – yet willing to stop and offer comfort and emotional support to a young woman with a broken heart.

Contrast that to a brutal break-up when the guy’s heart is broken. Can you imagine him crying his eyes out in the men’s room and getting hugs from total strangers? Nope. Neither can I!

But I thought of this scenario in light of the book I just read and blogged about, Raising Cain – Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys by Michael Kindlon and Daniel Thompson. Males can be just as broken hearted, but where and how do they find comfort? Obviously, it will not be the bathroom among strangers, but somewhere, somehow, it’s important for them to find some kind of support, too, if we are to have well-adjusted boys and men in our lives.

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