Couple of thoughts. A lot has transpired since this thread was first written years ago.
@Von is happily married (nice to see you old friend), my son is happily married (both men married their unicorns.....), I have remarried too.
Top tier men are not the sociopaths
@jhonny9546 believes them to be. My father, God rest his soul (he was alive when I originally wrote this) was a top tier man. He was very handsome, 6'3", outdoorsman, was an excellent lawyer who argued and won before the US Supreme Court. He had character. He was a leader. He had lifelong friends. He was tough; direct; unapologetic. He had expectations and standards, and he was also loving and kind. He was stoic. He taught the same Sunday school class for 35 years until his death. His Sunday school students insisted on serving at his funeral. My son at 15 was a pallbearer at his burial alongside classmates from gradeschool (men in their 80s) who drove hours to pay their respects. A county prosecutor who my father had argued against and also with, age 86, accompanied by his wife of 66 years, drove 9 hours ONE way to pay respects. After the funeral service they drove home 9 hours.
My ex husband loved & revered my father (his own father died tragically when he was 12)....my husband hears all the stories about my dad from family and wishes he could have met him.
My dad was a great man.
And he raised my sisters and I to be the kind of woman described at the outset of this thread.
My son leads. He remembers his grandfather, has the deepest respect for him & strives to embody his character, and mine, and his dad's.
So much begins with a man being a good father, guiding, holding accountable, leading, developing character. I agree with
@AmsterdamAssassin that integrity and devotion are paramount in raising solid children into solid adults. My father was tough, had high standards, high integrity, and was a devoted father. He was not perfect, and could own his flaws and mistakes with humility.
Although we have been divorced now over 10 years, my ex husband and I have always co-parented amicably and with integrity and mutual respect. His mother was a unicorn in every way herself. After she was widowed she never remarried; never had sexual relations with another man (my ex husband's father was the love of her life; she gave him her virginity on their wedding night, which she was always funny and reverent about)....and I married my first husband because of the character I saw in that family....
Character is of the utmost importance. Beauty is wonderful too of course, but finding a beautiful woman with character is finding a unicorn. They DO exist, but they are what every man seeks, so these are the most desirable women for marriage; for motherhood. A woman who will join you, inspire you, love you & build a legacy with you.
And men have a deep & primal desire for a partnership/marriage with that kind of meaning and substance. And that is why this thread remains relevant.
Cheers.