DEAR ABBY: I have been in an on-again/off-again relationship with a man for 16 years — more on than off. We have two boys together. He recently moved back in, and things are going well.

We’re in our 30s, and I’m ready to be more than girlfriend and boyfriend. I’d like to ask this special man in my life to marry me, but I’m not sure if a woman should ever propose marriage to a man. Should I go ahead and do it, or just be patient and hope that one day he will ask me to take the next big step? — LONGING FOR MORE IN TEXAS

DEAR LONGING FOR MORE: By all means, ask him to formalize your relationship. After 16 years and two children, you deserve to know where the relationship is going. And when you do, mention that you’d like him to go to the altar willingly — before the boys are big enough to hog-tie and drag him there to make an “honest woman” of their mother.