When is the right time to hold hands?

Hello dear friends, sincerest apologies for my longer than usual absence! I have not forgotten to write- honestly. I've just found my time this last week has been zapped- boom!, and it was gone.

But, I have- of course, been thinking since I last wrote to you. I mean, I probably don't need to tell you that as I'm sure you're probably aware that I'm always thinking... there's never a quiet moment in my mind (regardless of whether these thoughts are more of a pondering; a musing, or just a good old fashioned day dream).

Anyway, anyway, I got thinking about a subject matter very dear to me. In case you're wondering, it's the age old question of holding hands. Yes, I'm sure that Jane Austen and her cronies had something to say on the matter, but their opinions were written in the day when a woman flashing a teeny bit of ankle was deemed risque. But what about now? The question I pose to you is: when it is the right moment to hold your boyfriend's hand for the first time?

I can only go by my own experience. I remember my first hand holding experience with Dave. It wasn't as romantic as perhaps it could have been, but it was memorable.

Dave and I were in a field.

Filled with cows.

Cows that looked angry.

We'd been for a nice walk and watched a beautiful sunset and so far- no hand holding. Having watched the sunset, we realised that we were millions (or what felt like millions) of steps away from the car. Then, we realised that we'd be walking back in the dark. Without a torch (or if you're in America, we had no flashlight). Ooh la la!

After a while, we reached the top of a hill only to find that it was full of menacing looking cows. Bear in mind, I was wearing a red jacket, so obviously feeling rather nervous. I don't know if cows have a problem with the colour red the way that bulls do... but they are related so I suppose it's possible. I just thought, 'cripes- this is it!' But that thought was promptly followed with a 'fiddle-sticks... why did I have to wear red?!'

Anyway, I think that my nervousness must have been evident in my facial expressions, no matter how hard I tried to pretend otherwise. Dave turned to me, looked me in the eye and then went on to announce that he thought it would be for the best if I stayed close. I nodded. Then he took my hand in his and all of a sudden, voila! We were holding hands and it felt right. Simply perfect.

I don't really know if there is an answer to my initial question, but what I will say is that I think that the moment you first hold hands will happen when neither of you is thinking about it. I was lucky, as I got to be a kind-of damsel in distress and Dave could then step up to the mark! He got to be the Prince that rescued the damsel and we both went on to live happily ever after.

The end. No, it's the beginning.

Mildred x