The ring is sitting in a box, top drawer of my desk.  It’s beautiful, both in form and function.  Every so often, I remove it from the drawer, hold in in my hand, and marvel over the question I will be asking of my Lovely Nadira.

How many men are out there right now, wondering if this is the year, if they are with Ms. Right, if she would even say yes if they dared ask?  How many men are still assembling their courage, and waiting for that sign that it’s time…..

I am laying down the gauntlet, my male friends.  I am shouting from the rooftops for you to take that next step in life and commit.  I am holding up a sign, neon red, blinking and loud.  The sign says NOW.  Who will join me this Sunday, and start a wonderful new chapter in life?

This is my challenge.  This Valentine’s Day, I am proposing to my very lovely fiancée.  I want 1,000 men who have come to the realization that they are in committed relationships, who have wondered if this is the year, to decide. I would like 1,000 men to join me, and decide to propose to their beautiful, charming, enchanting, wonderful girlfriends, too.

Let’s all start that new life at the same time.  Together we will make this journey, lending support to each other when necessary, as only men can.  Are 1,000 bold and daring men ready to do this?

If you are teetering on the decision and want that sign, to know if your woman is the ONE, then here are 10 things you can consider.  But hurry, because you don’t have much time left before Sunday!

Signs you should propose to her:

1. Do you support each other even during difficult times? How was it when the money ran out and there were a lot of days left in the calendar before the next paycheck?  Did you talk each other through it, explaining that you both know the two of you will pull through together?
2. Do you look past today’s appearance? When you are looking less than your best game, does she accept your difficulty in figuring your ensembles out without the benefit of matching Garanimals tags?  Is she still arm-candy for you even when she is in sweats and sneakers, make up free and with a fresh pimple on her forehead?
3. Do you both have a strong sense of self-worth and ability? Are you both independently capable of figuring out how to support yourselves as free adults in the World?  Have you both lived on your own long enough to know you always can?
4. Do you both agree on finances? Do you trust each other’s decision-making abilities when it comes to money?  Can either of you make decisions about what to buy on a moderate scale without having to constantly confer with the other party, and do you uphold each other’s spending limits?
5. How do you feel in each other’s presence? Do you feel like a bigger man in her eyes than you know, deep-down, you really are?  Does she make you want to be a better man simply because you know she has every confidence in your abilities?
6. How do both of you get along with people of the same sex? Trust me, if other women seem to have overwhelming issues with your girlfriend, maybe it’s because they found a rotten apple in the barrel long before you did.   Women who have healthy relationships with peers likely have developed more balanced viewpoints of things in the World around them, including you.
7. Would you consider your mate “high maintenance?” I hate to use this term, because there is no simple definition for “high maintenance,” as it is all in the eye of the beholder. Does she (or you) require the presence of ongoing items, services or relationships that break from what you are willing to support in an ongoing manner?  How about if you both were living only on your income – do you comfortably feel either of you would let go of inessential items for the survival of the family?
8. How do the two of you treat those come across your life? Do either of you jump to rudeness with store employees when you feel you did not get a good deal, or do the two of you channel your inner Mother Theresa?  Do you scream at traffic, or gently move over in the lane to allow others by?  Does she enjoy the company of children, or cringe when they appear on the scene?  If the two of you have mastered your inner Tazmanian Devil, you are on a better path to treating each other with the courtesy, dignity and respect you both deserve.
9. Are there ghosts of relationships past? Make sure you both have soundly put your previous relationships in the past and left them there!  And I mean phone calls, Facebook friending, and lunches too!
10. Do you trust your mate around the opposite sex? Trust in each other being able to tame the libido around attractive members of the opposite sex is essential.  Healthy office flirting to make the atmosphere fun is one thing, but do you both believe the other knows where the line is drawn?  Can you talk about the relationships you are forming in life without worry you will get the Stink-Eye from your partner?

I am ready for this next, wonderful step in my life.  I have been ready for a long, long time.   Feel free to leave me a comment and let me know you will join me too.  And please pass this post on to everyone you know, all the single men with wonderful girlfriends, who deserve to have a ring put on it!