Recently my wife asked me to hold her purse for her while we were at a store. Nothing unusual, right. Men hold their wive’s purses all the time.

When I took it, I staggered.

That’s right, the weight of the purse pulled me forward. I have to admit, I may have also grunted.

My wife looked at me and smiled.

“What’s in this thing,” I asked her.

“Your wallet, keys, and phone for one.”

“That can’t make it this heavy.”

“You aren’t the only one giving me things to hold,” she said.

Okay, I have to admit she was right. When we unpacked that fifty pound weight masquerading as a purse, we found lollipops, permission slips, coins—lots of coins—, some English homework, a program from a dance recital, deposit slips from work. I could go on and on, which brings us to an important point. How many of you women are suffering from neck pain. And if you are, have you considered that your purse might be the culprit?

Right now, I’d like each of you to go weigh your purse. I bet most of you have purses that are over five pounds or more. Think about that weight strapped around your shoulder every day. Imagine the strain that is putting on your neck, your shoulder, your back.

So now I challenge you to minimize. Reduce the size of your purse so it can’t hold so much. Tell that selfish husband (ahem) that you won’t hold his phone, his wallet or his bowling ball sized key chain. Tell him that those things are giving you a pain in the neck.

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