The first date with my [now] husband went something like this:

He picked me up at the door and I handed him an umbrella [it was drizzling outside].  He looked at me and said, "Is this for you?" I said, "Yes."  He took it and held it for me while he walked me to the car. He opened the door for me to get in the car; [which I find most men do, however most men DO NOT open the door to let the woman OUT of the car. I think this is because most women do not wait for them to walk around to do so. I used to be this way because it felt too awkward for me to wait and I was too nervous so it was just easier to let myself out and not think about it. Well, not this time!] When we got to our date place, he parked and got out on his side and I waited. I just sat there... for what seemed like a pretty long time. I saw him pause to wonder why I was not getting out, and suddenly he came SPRINTING around to my side of the car and squeezed himself between the parked cars balancing on one foot to open the door to let me out... I giggled while he was a bit frantic. The rest of the night he pulled out my chair and waited for me to sit before he sat.  He paid and was very gentlemanly. He also would randomly comment on the fact he had never had any woman wait or demand the door be opened for her when getting out of the car.  This made him happy, and it must have meant that I was "the real deal" as he put it. We girls just have to give our men the OPPORTUNITY to be our heroes.

We dated for 1.5 years and have only been married for 4 months, but he STILL opens ALL doors for me, and if I forget and let myself out of the car he gets upset, and asks if something is wrong or if I am mad at him [aww...]. So NO, Dr. Laura, Chivalry is NOT dead. I know I am late to the game to get this email to you, but I wanted to tell you how chivalrous my hubby was on our very first date, and that he's STILL that way today... And that one simple little move of WAITING for him to figure it out and be THE MAN, put me in a league of my own in his mind and then his heart.

On an aside, he also cleans the kitchen after I cook, fixes my bike and makes sure it always has air in its tires, calls me every day to tell me he loves me, tells me how happy he is I am his wife every day, says grace when we sit down to our nightly meal EVERY DAY... and holds me when I am upset and cry about the messy stuff of life. He tells me, as he has been since our first date, that his late grandmother would have been proud to know me because I am woman with high standards, and I make him meals that she also used to make.

Cheers!

Jenny