Varying Philosophies on Phalange Mingling

That's us holding hands while we're getting married.
See, hand-holding is serious business.

The first time I can remember holding a boy's hand was at the Homecoming dance my junior year of high school. Sure, I'd kissed boys before him. But I don't recall ever holding another's hand until that night. His fingers felt strange laced between mine. And I was certain that things between us were really going somewhere because we had taken that step together.

Flash forward almost 20 years, and I'm married to a pair of hands now. A pair that disagrees with me on what it means to interlock fingers.

Mr. Wonderful and I got into a spirited debate recently about the significance of holding hands. To him, it's just a regular old gesture you make when you're dating—like opening a girl's car door.

To me, it's much more.

I even wrote a post around the subject after the first time Mr. W held my hand in 2007.

I always felt like hand-holding was a declaration. Much like I tried to hold in the words I love you so I wasn't the first to say them, I also held back on hand-grabbing until my Mr. made the move first. It felt coupley and I didn't want to be the first to proclaim boyfriend-girlfriend-hood by doing it.

I think it's possible to kiss someone you're dating—or even sleep with them—and not have it mean as much as when you publicly hold their hand.

Mr. W thinks I'm crazy. Just as I harassed him for running his hands all over town like ten-fingered hussies, he had a cow (hello '80s throwback) when I said I might sleep with someone before ever holding their hand.

Where do you guys stand on this topic? Which one of the Wonderfuls is the crazy person? I'll be keeping a tally of your responses...