Blossoms: Some roses were starting to bloom earlier this month, but now they are in their full glory. Nana always said that the first bloom and the last bloom of the season were the finest.

Taping (but not watching): Home Improvement's series finale for Tab. That's another series, like Mad About You, that was funny for about five minutes and overstayed its welcome by several years at least.

Weather: A beautiful day. Yesterday's thunderstorms must have heralded the arrival of a cool front because all the humidity is gone, and it is sunny and breezy.

Modesty

Daniel is half way through his current eight-session swimming instruction. Unfortunately, Trenton State scheduled another swimming group at the same time as Daniel's group this week, which means the pool and locker rooms are more crowded.

I have to take him into the women's locker room since I can't go into the men's locker room, and I won't send him in there by himself. The women's locker room is divided into a restroom area, showers, and two changing areas, one of which is a little more private than the other. That is the one we generally use, as do most of the other boys who are there with their mothers.

Today after his lesson, we entered the locker room and went to the more secluded changing area. Several pre-teen girls from the other swimming group were already there, changing into their swimsuits. I was drying Daniel off with a towel and helping him get his wet bathing suit off, so I wasn't paying any attention to them at first. Then I realized that the girls had become twittery because there was--oh, the horror!--a boy in their midst.

They spoke in angry whispers and cast indignant looks our way. "I'm going to have to change in the bathroom!" huffed one.

Then a woman standing there, apparently the mother of one or more of the girls, stopped some of the boys from Daniel's class from entering our changing area.

"Could the boys go change somewhere else?" she said. Despite her phrasing, it was a demand, not a question. "There are girls here."

At that point I spoke up. "The boys usually change in here," I said.

"Oh. I didn't know that."

I shrugged but didn't answer her. If you don't know how things work around here, why are you throwing your weight around? I thought to myself. The system was working pretty well before this new swimming class started. I continued to help Daniel dress and ignored her and the hyper-modest girls for the remainder of our time in the changing area.

I always thought that there was an unwritten, understood rule that no one gawks at any one else in the locker room. Besides, Daniel was completely absorbed in the challenge of pulling socks onto his still damp feet--not an easy thing to do--and oblivious to the presence of the others. I know that one day he will be interested in girls' bodies, but he is only 6 and that time is still years away. Thank God.

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