The 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition

One of the realities of raising boys in this sex-crazed-soft-porn-is-acceptable little world is the difficultly that it is to protect the boys of having such images burned into their little brains at an early age.

 I remember reading a story somewhere or hearing advice once about a mom who avoided the check out lines with magazines to protect her children from the sexualization displayed on the covers, opting to have a battle over candy bars now rather than facing other more subliminally ingrained battles later.

I remember there was a time I took that advice to heart, but somewhere along the way I forgot it.

Until today.

Today ISH and I were on our regular Monday grocery run and, after scoping outing which line was the shortest, I pulled into lane 8. And what should be there as a last ditch effort for an impulse buy but this season's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

"Ugh!" I thought.  "Lord please protect my boys."

And as the words were going from my mind to the Father ISH says "Oh."

"Oh?" I replied

"Oh, that-" he said pointing to the SI cover.

"Oh :( " I thought

"-that is really inappropriate." ISH said with as much disdain as can come from a six-year-old lisp-y little mouth.

"Yes. It is." I said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Why do they want to put that on the cover?" ISH asked me.

"Because some men like her and some women want to be her and they think it's a good way to sell magazines."

"Well I don't."  (Lord keep this innocence about him)

"Me neither buddy." I said as I started to put my groceries on the checkout line belt feeling as though I had somehow avoided a storm.

"Now that-" he said with his eyes getting bigger, pointing the Food Network Magazine cover of a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese tart, "that's what they need to have on the cover.  That's what they need more of."

I giggled.

"Yes buddy, I agree."