Femininity and me

I have 5 brothers, I might have mentioned it before.  I love my brothers, and we get along great.  I always figured the reason I did so well with my 6 sons is because I had 5 brothers.  I could relate.  I had been around boys my whole life, I knew what boys would do before they could even think of it. But until Monday I had never really realized how much having brothers has effected ME.

2 of my brothers, my future sil and I were all sitting around on Monday chatting.  My future sil is expecting, so the topic came up.  She mentioned the show "I Didn't Know I was Pregnant".  If you haven't watched it, its just like the title says: stories of women who didn't know they were pregnant when they gave birth.  I have watched the show several times, my girls especially like it.  There is one that my future sil and I both saw, a woman who gives birth while camping.  The baby is born in the bathroom and falls to a concrete floor.  Then this conversation ensued:


Brother 1: Well at least it had a tether.
Me: What you mean the umblical?
Brother 1: Yea, slowed the decent a little.
Me: Well they can snap you know, its not like a bungee.
Brother 2: Can you imagine if it were?
We all looked at each other and thought the same thing in that moment.
Brother 2: It would go out and boing...goes back in. 

Brother 1 and I cringe at the thought and bust out laughing.  Poor future sil is sitting there mortified.  And that is the defining moment of my life.  In that instant I knew why I am the way I am.  Its conversations like that my whole life that have made me the tom boy that sits before you today.  Its a miracle I have any femininity at all! Oh and future sil, shes getting married to Brother 2.  I don't think she knew what she was in for when they got together. 


This explains why I can't seem to dress myself and actually match.  This explains why, when my sons do things like get naked at grandmas, it doesn't phase me one bit.  This explains why I am more comfortable having conversations with men about computers than I am women about birth.  This is why I watch Malcolm in the Middle and feel like I am watching old home videos. And when I relate this conversation to my husband what does he say?  "Yup thats why you are a Tom Boy."  I guess hes always known it too.  I am guessing when we try to out do each others gross out stories it was a dead giveaway. 

Now I have 2 girls of my own and 6 boys.  Those boys will undoubtedly affect my daughters the same way being in a house of boys affected me.  I see it already.  The rush out to play in the desert together.  The girls have no problem catching bugs, picking up dog poo, or drawing pictures of mens hairy backs.  What am I gonna do?  At least they will be able to relate to the men they marry.  Unless they came from homes of all girls.