Just had to share this one with everyone. It happened this afternoon. I was walking to the car with my wife and kids and upon seeing that her shoulder bag (not a feminine pocketbook but more of an all-around carryall for personal and family supplies) looked heavy as usual, I extended my hand and offered to carry it (admittedly not something uncommon between us since I used to carry her pocketbook on my shoulder when we went clothes shopping for her pre-parenthood as well... which was soooo nice!).
She said, "Good, you can be the 'man'... thanks" and accepted the offer to which I replied, "I'm tired of always being the 'man'." She quickly responded, "Well you should try being the 'woman' sometime" and I just paused momentarily and said, "I'll think about it."....
...and we left it out there to hang in the air before floating away on the cool, summer breeze.
Lord knows, it wasn't the first hint that I've dropped (tho possibly the longest exchange of this type) nor will it be the last, but moments like those give me hope that, one day, I will feel totally comfortable enough to say in passing, "Y'know honey,... there's something I've been meaning to tell you all these years, and being my best friend, I think you should know...."
Thanx for listening, girls...