The Rooster, The Chick and The Ring

Aly likes to remind me of the non-engagement factor we have brewing in our relationship.

Her heated, animated and dramatic depictions have obscurely described her feelings of a “less than desirable” situation.

My favorite interaction to date, took place last night.

Fueled by red wine and estrogen from her monthly girls-only get together, she returned home to engage (pun intended) in the topic.

“So, why aren’t we?” was the ambiguous kickoff to the conversation.

The half-assed, “what are you talking about?” put us squarely in discussion mode.

Back and forth volleys uncovered reoccurring topics. Top line being one person is more than ready to make the jump and one person is probably close to the edge, but not ready to parachute down into the matrimony abyss.

The pinnacle of the conversation, and motivation for sharing this story, peaked with Aly authoritatively stating:

“What are you waiting for? A chick to hatch?? Well, I have news for you – I am not a rooster!”

While the literal translation is up for discussion, she makes the implied translation crystal clear.

She has a way of doing that.

To her credit, Aly has a perfect demeanor about the whole situation – patient and thoughtful. It’s the times when those brew over that make the most interesting.

I felt compelled to share this, if for no other reason, to show how someone has successfully used a rooster hatching an egg as an analogy for engagement trepidation.


As a post-script to this story, my relationship saga seems to make its way into conversations with co-workers - what I’m attributing to working with 86% women.

Tuesday I showed up to work wearing a sweater, my number 1 jeans* and big boy shoes** - what I thought to be acceptable clothes for a cold and snowy Minneapolis winter day.

By the end of the day Thursday, allegedly was not only engaged but had a baby on board.

Colle+McVoy needs to hire more men.


*Number 1 jeans refer the ranking system all men have for their jeans. Men rank jeans in order of preference – favorite jeans as Number 1, second favorite as Number 2 and so on.

Whether men admit to doing this or not is moot – all do it subliminally. Also to note, men do not buy jeans that will not become their new Number 1.

I would hypothesize women do this as well, however, I have no proof.


**Not skateboarding shoes.