Paj-EYE-na

A quick note...i've just drawn rough diagrams of the male and female anatomy to illustrate how humans reproduce. This i did to educate BedHeadSid (BHS) about how babies are conceived and subsequently born. Although it was last winter when the "sex" question was instigated by his friend (a girl) divulging her knowledge of how sex occurs ("the man sticks his thingie in the woman's thing") and a non-intercourse but nevertheless sexual experience of hers ("he pounded me down there"), the last two weeks have been a crash course on sex education for BHS.

Having chastized the girl and BHS for discussing a subject better left to parents, I've taken the responsibility to educate him in hopes of dispelling any misconceptions -- mistakes, vaguaries and the like -- from the "street."

Amid giggles and with shocked wide eyes, BHS is understanding what it is to be human, and i hope that at the very least, he learns that sex and sexual nature is as natural and myriad as the hills and as profound as the birth of one's child.

With humor and honesty, i'm teaching him that humans are what they are -- that society often defines what is deviant as well as acceptable but that these definitions change over time and with each culture.

Most importantly, I hope he learns to respect his future partner, his body and himself and to never feel ashamed of the emotions coursing through his body or his partner's.

So with these guidelines, I get to answer questions from him like "Mom, what's a pa-gina?" And "why do women have boobs?"

I love this part about being a parent!