I thought with the addition of the third male in the house, and me being the only female, our second bathroom needed an overhaul to make it less feminine.   So, I wholeheartedly meant it when I asked the whole family to go with me to the store and help pick out colors and patterns.  But then, I saw it.  The shower curtain of my dreams.

I couldn't contain myself.  I had to make it mine.  My husband tried to steer me towards shower curtains that were striped and not too different in style from most of the shirts he wears.  I poo poo'd them all.  I just had to have that shower curtain; almost as if my self-identity was interwoven in its majestic silky threads and Bohemic style embroidery. 

My husband reminded me the reason we were redecorating in the first place was to find something less frilly, not more frilly, since the boys will be primarily using the bathroom.  "But our guests use that bathroom too!"  I cried out with my fingers crinkling the silk curtain in a panic.  "I don't want our guests to think my tastes are defined by anything other than this shower curtain." 

"What about the boys?"  He asked. 

"One is too young to care and the other one just picked out a plastic curtain with dancing monkeys on it!"  I replied.

"What about what I want?"  He asked.

And though I was desperately trying to not throw out the gender card, I did.  "Between all the burping and farting and wrestling and dirty clothes thrown all over the house, I feel so outnumbered!  Please let me have this." 

He finally succumbed.  Later, when I was putting up my shower curtain, my eldest was patiently watching me, cheering on my good tastes.  When I thanked him for his support, he simply responded, "Yeah, because I know I want dinner."

I was touched.  They get it when they're young and somehow...it just disappears.