Guy Talk

The Bean was in the bathtub when I got home from work. He was really happy to see me and launched into details about camp. Having drunk several cups of coffee and water throughout the day, followed by a marathon of afternoon meetings and a long drive home, I was in desperate need of relief. I closed the door and told the kid of my intentions to pee.

“It’s okay, Daddy,” he said. “I’ll turn away.”

“You don’t have to. We’re both guys. It’s okay.”

 After the business at hand had begun the Bean said, “At camp after swimming today, my friends were talking about wieners.”

“Like with your guy friends?”

 “Yeah, they were making jokes about wieners and…” The Bean got a guilty look on his face and stopped talking.

“What’s wrong?”

"Mom said I’m not allowed to say ‘wiener’.”

 “Listen, when you’re with guys or your dad there are certain things you can say that you shouldn’t say in front of mom. It’s called guy talk. With me, ‘wiener’ is okay.“

The Bean soaked in that information before continuing to tell me the wiener jokes his friends made at camp.

I smiled realizing that this conversation is going to be very similar but very different when he’s 13.