Things My Mother Didn’t Tell Me


Things My Mother Didn’t Tell Me

Jan Becker


Mom never really said much

about condoms.

She just handed me a case when I was about

sixteen and said,

“Here, make sure that you use them.”


They were ribbed and

lubricated. Danny,

my brother,

and I made giant water balloons

that we

dropped

like hand grenades

on our little sister’s friends.


We found that we could stretch the condoms as wide as our heads

and wore them as hats.

We thought we were

making a fashion statement

until we discovered,

that it was next to impossible

to get the lubricant

out of

our hair.