The Man in My Life

A house full of chicks, that's what Shawn lives in. A chick wife, a chick dog, a chick baby, and a chick cat. There isn't another Y chromosome in the bunch. His Y is the only Pierce Y for now and it has a lot of man things to do. I need that chromosome to do all the normal man stuff: take out the garbage, shovel the snow, mow the lawn in season. Light bulbs get changed, water softeners get salted, and racing is watched on TV. The Y takes care of all that.

But Shawn is called on to dig deep and use his X chromy from time to time, too. He listens to my "Lesbian Music," a term coined by one of Shawn's less enlightened friends, without complaint. He does diapers without batting an eye and cleans up after dinner most nights. He lets me be indecisive and doesn't roll his eyes. The length of my showers or get-ready ritual has never been called into question. He gossips with me and pumps my gas, watches ice skating and carries my 14 year old mop dog outside for a pee.

Shawn surely wants a son but, if ever there was a man who could survive--thrive, even--in a female filled house, it is this one. If we have another baby, which we plan to do, I know he would welcome a girl as enthusiastically as he would a boy, and for that I am thankful.

As long as it is just us girls, I'm glad we have friends who have sons. Shawn practically choked on his dinner volunteering to dress as Batman for Carrie and Conor's son's 4th birthday party.



That's not Bruce Wayne. That's my husband. In full bat regalia. At McDonald's.

Hands off, Ladies.

Batman was a huge hit with 4 year old Griffin. I know that Shawn would love to share superheroes and slot cars and tackle football--all those activities that are so strongly identified with the male gender--with a son, but I'm sure he'd love to share them with Violet, too, if she was interested. Judging from her reaction to Batman showing up at the party, he may want to wait a couple years for the superheroes.