Complex Numbers

Human Nurture

Write your entry inspired by the word “nurture.” What does it mean to nurture something or someone? How were you nurtured growing up, how are you currently nurtured, and how do you nurture others?

I don't.

Right now a lot of you are probably like, "Of course; you're a dude." Bullshit. While "nurture" is something often associated with women, lots of men are nurturing.

I'm not one of them.

My dad was, in a rather old-fashioned way. So was my mom. They desperately wanted a child; they got me. But for whatever reason - feel free to psychoanalyze; you'll probably be wrong, anyway - I didn't get the "nurture" gene.

I'm not one of those people who needs something to take care of. Truth be told, I think of it as a burden - one I willingly assume when the situation calls for it, but not something I seek out. It's why I didn't want kids. And if I didn't care, I'd have tried to have them anyway; therfore, I do care, ipso facto, ex post nihilo, etc.

Sure, I have cats, and I take care of them, but cats are essentially low-maintenance. They suit my personality better than dogs do, because dogs take a lot of training and care, things I can't be arsed to provide. The idea of walking one twice a day, every day, like clockwork? Shudder. I can't do anything on a regular schedule, or I start feeling hemmed-in.

Besides, when I do try to be nurturing, whatever the hell that means, I always end up making a situation worse.

And so no, I don't know what it means, and I'm not really interested in trying to find out. I'd rather play video games. Plenty of things about human nature that I will never understand, and this is one of them.