Since this post is especially for ladies, I would be surprised if you follow the Art of Manliness blog or podcast. But I saw something there that might be of interest to you – a visual graphic on 6 Reasons to Carry a Handkerchief. It happens to intersect with the book we’ve been talking about for moms by Jay Payleitner called Moms Bringing Out the Best in Dads, and it just might inspire the Father’s Day gift you’ve been looking for.  

Jay wrote a chapter on one way to help your husband: “Equip Him with Crisp White Handkerchiefs.” 

I don’t know about you, but I remember my grandfather carrying a hankie, or depending on what he was wearing that day and how dressed up he got, a bandana would do the same trick.

But today, carrying a hankie is a lost art. Why bring it back? 

The answer, I think, can be found by looking inside your own bag. I notice the ladies around me carry some type of bag, sometimes multiple, with them wherever they go. Because of it, they are prepared for a variety of situations. Have a headache? She has some pain relievers. Need a pen? She has them in several colors and a notepad to go with it. Did you start bleeding? She’s got a bandage. I could go on. Needless to say, men carry fewer things in their pockets.  

But Jay reminds his readers of the usefulness of the hankie for offering to a lady, stopping blood, wiping sweat, cleaning things, absorbing baby drool, and taking care of sniffles and scrapes for children.

It’s like a multi-purpose tool for a man who wants to be attentive to the needs of his family around him.  

Jay offers tactics to try if you think your husband might not be the hankie type. I think this graphic pretty much sums it up, and with the exception of robbing stagecoaches, they are all still relevant in my experience.  

The old-fashioned hankie is making a comeback and getting your husband one can be a way you help bring out the best in him. It is a small gesture, but I like to say that ideas like this set your husband up to be the hero. So maybe this Father’s Day, you might want to give your husband a pack of hankies. He’ll be there at the ready the next time something needs dabbing, wiping, or comforting. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 

Check out The Noble Man Podcast with Jay Payleitner and Christen and Hollie, two Noble Warriors team members who also happen to be wives and moms, as they discuss the teamwork that makes the family work and Jay’s book Moms Bringing Out the Best in Dads. 

---