Having three older sisters certainly has brought its challenges, but it also has given me insight into “girl secrets” that I otherwise would never have known about. A guy usually has to blindly attempt to understand a girl, but my sisters made sure I went through their own version of “Understanding Women Boot Camp Style”, which of course they repeatedly told me was for my own good.

When my oldest sister got her license, she would tell Mom & Dad that she wanted to give them a break by taking my sisters and me to the mall. What was a break for my parents was torture for me. They would drag me to every store they liked, make me wait next to the changing room door while they tried on something like 100 outfits, and then when I was ready to have a temper tantrum they would promise me ice cream, if I “could keep it together” until after they shopped for makeup. When I turned 13, I started to be interested in having a girlfriend-which was a miracle in itself after years of fighting for the bathroom in the morning, not to mention once I finally got in there I had to basically navigate a land mine of hair products, wet towels and beauty supplies. Not only was I questioned about who my interest was, but if I brought her to the house, my sisters swarmed like bees to honey, asking so many questions of the girl that she was either scared or decided I might be too much trouble to date.

It was in my later teens when my two oldest sisters were out of the house and my next oldest sister was graduating that I was “coached” rather than interrogated. Luckily, after several attempts, I met a girl who has passed all the criteria my sisters were looking for. The three most helpful things I have learned from my sisters are:

1. Bathrooms double as dressing rooms, salons, counseling rooms and any other thing that may require a bit of privacy, so just find another one if things seem to be taking a long time in there.
2. Knowing a little bit about what is trendy in women’s fashion makes a guy seem REALLY smart and sensitive.
3. Trust your sisters’ instincts. They have such a network of friends that they can spot trouble weeks sooner than I can. They know the questions to ask to get the information they want, so better to just sit back and watch them work their magic.

Having three sisters hasn’t always been easy, (especially when although I have been taller than all of them for about 4 years now they still insist on introducing me as their “baby brother”), I still feel really lucky to have each one of them imparting their “girl wisdom” on me.