Living In a House Full of Women

Seems like whenever I tell someone that I have five sisters, some look at me with amazement, some with well lack of a better word, pity and well some just find it hard to believe I’m straight!

          Add to that our grandmother lived with us and our dad was gone a lot trying to keep food on the table as a truckdriver, so that ran the total up to seven females and me. Wellsir that kinda made me literally, the de-facto man of the house and that was no easy chore. 

          Most of this will deal with Mom, Grandma, and my three sisters in line after me. I could write volumes about how I was traumatized by being the only male, but it would be a flat out lie. I had it very good growing up. A lot was expected of me but a lot was given to me also. I was expected to look after my sisters and to serve as security for them while on the bus and at school. I’m not sure why, for mom had raised us to fairly independent and to be able to take care of ourselves. Mainly it was to serve as a buffer between my sister right after me and every boy in school that had his eye on her. I had been doing that since a very early age and had doled out several lessons on what happens when you put your hands on one of my sisters.

          But, in spite of all of the bumps bruises and occasionally walking into an unlocked bathroom, I sure did learn a lot from those women and girls. I learned from listening late at night my sisters’ friends talking about boys what they liked and didn’t like and who they liked. Nothing like knowing the lay of the land when out hunting. From my mom, I learned responsibility and respect for women. I learned they weren’t the weaker sex after all. I also learned from my mother how to dance, throw a baseball, how to ride a bicycle and sit a horse. From my Grandma Adele, I learned manners, and how a gentleman should speak and act. Grandma was big on manners and etiquette. A man removes his hat when in the presence of a lady and when coming inside. She installed what I like to call the “Fifteen Second Rule” which boils down to I had about 15 seconds to remove my hat or get slapped out from under it. Grandma was big on tough love, but you never could find anyone who would say a word against her. To this day, I can’t bring myself to wear a hat or cap in the house. Jane has hung hooks by the door, in our bedroom and in my den so I will always have a place to hang my hat.

          I have also been desensitized when it comes to feminine hygiene products. I can walk into any store and buy anything a woman might need without batting an eye. How many you fellers can say that? I have been given an inside look at how the female mind works from a multi-generational viewpoint and have learned one thing, it didn’t help a bit.Like the rest of the men on this planet, I’m still a lost gosling when it comes to fathoming the female mind.