Viable

A few nights back, my wife came to the dinner table giddy with excitement. She proceeded to relate a story from her day in which she was "hit on" by a stranger as she was on her way home after walking our son to school. Her eleven-year-old son. To middle school. The guy said he wondered if she would be offended if he asked her out. She let him down easily, and later she explained to us at home that she was thrilled to find out that she was "still viable."
First of all, I am pleased and happy to live in a relationship in which we can periodically have dinnertime discussions about the various and sundry personal interactions that flavor our day. I suppose I would rather hear about that sort of thing than not.
Secondly, it reminded me of a time when I was desperate to try out my sure-fire pickup line: "I really want to ask you out, but I'm afraid of what your boyfriend would say." This appealed to me as a completely non-threatening, no-risk method of being turned down. I kept my expectations very low when I was a bachelor. If you fly very low to the ground, you don't do as much damage when you crash.
Finally, there was this notion of "viable." I honestly don't know what I would do if I suddenly found myself in the position of diving back into the dating pool. The idea that I would have to broaden my appeal for a wider audience seems like an impossible task. I have spent too many years getting just this comfortable. I guess that 's the other thing about having a mate who remains "viable." It keeps me from getting too comfortable.