Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man

your mom’s house for a family barbecue. See what he says—
what he does. If he says, “Nah, I ain’t going over there, I got to
watch Monday Night Football,” and it’s Saturday, then guess
what? He’s probably not the one for you. Usually, how a rela-
tionship starts is a good sign of how it’s going to end up, and if
a man starts out not interested in your family, what makes you
think that after you sleep with him, he’s going to suddenly de-
velop an affection for your family? But if he brings a game of
Scrabble or Monopoly over to the house and sits down on the
floor and plays for an hour or he invites you and your family to
join him on an outing, then he just might be a keeper.
For those of you who are thinking strictly from a safety
standpoint, please know that I’m not telling you to bring a man
you hardly know into your house and leave him sitting there
with your kids, unsupervised. Of course, when someone you’re
just getting to know is in your home near your kids, you’re
going to sit there the whole time, watching. What’s he going to
do—touch your daughter on the thigh while you’re sitting on
the couch right next to her? Or put your son in a choke hold at
the dinner table? Be realistic: no man is going to walk in your
house and abuse anyone with you sitting nearby. And if you’re
that concerned about bringing a man into your house, you can
always go to a public place—somewhere where plenty of people
will be able to eyeball what’s going on and give a detailed ac-
counting to the authorities if he steps out of line and you have
to chop him in the neck.