The Extra Post

Do you know what today is?  It's Leap Day!!!!  One extra day every four years, which means you get to read one extra post from yours truly and the million other mom bloggers out there.  Oh the pressure was intense when I was trying to decide exactly what to write about.  What topic would truly be worthy of the honor?  Then I realized that Leap Day is also known as Sadie Hawkins Day.  And you know what happens on this pseudo holiday known as Sadie Hawkins Day?  Women are allowed to ask men to marry them, and depending on what country you live in, refusal of the proposal requires a fine that ranges between a kiss and 12 pairs of gloves. 

There's something that bothers me with the idea of a woman asking a man to marry her.  You could say I'm just old fashioned that way, I suppose, but in reality I am a pretty "modern" woman.  I went to college and graduate school, I work full-time, I have a supportive husband who shares all of the household chores, my kids attend a private school, I workout at the gym, and like to shop for cute clothes.  Yet, as a woman, when I think about relationships, I want a man to take the lead.  

As a young girl I daydreamed about a handsome boy asking me out for a date, and then waiting until Phil finally got up the nerve to kiss me.  And waiting until he was ready was part of the charm.  Growing up, I was always instructed by my father not to call a boy,  and while at the time I thought he was being unreasonable (after all I really wanted to talk to him, and maybe he just forgot to call me?), I now understand the wisdom behind that fatherly guidance.  Men want to take charge.  They want to have the opportunity to make the first move and take the lead.  There is something very masculine about that role.  

Have you ever watched a man shop?  They are hunters.  They need a pair of pliers, so they go to the tool store, and buy a pair of pliers.  Not like us women, oh no, we like to window shop and take our time and find the best deal, and talk to our friends about it, and maybe pick up some more things for the future. 

We are very different creatures, men and women, which is exactly how God intended it to be.  When we let the men be manly men and let them take the initiative in dating or proposing marriage, then we are free to be womanly women.  We can enjoy the thrill of being chased, play a little hard to get, make sure he truly wants to be with us for the right reasons, and accept his proposal in his time.  Then men will never feel like they got trapped, and women will never feel that they had to trap their man.   It's a win-win when we just let nature take it's course. 

So today, let's celebrate this extra day of the year by letting the men in our lives know how much we appreciate them, instead of trying to take away their thunder.  No offense Sadie Hawkins.