I let my six year old son get a manicure and my husband is a bit uncomfortable

I'll admit it- I'm a girl mom. My childhood was comprised of living with two sisters and a whole lot of estrogen permeating our every activity until 12 years after I was born my mom gave birth to a son. He was an anomaly to us-- that is my sisters and me- and so we did what we knew how to do best- we taught him the jingles to every commercial, which he parroted back on command and we dressed him up in our costumes and yes we even polished his nails. Being a toddler, he
had no real idea what was going on- other than being feted by these three females all of whom worshipped the ground he stood on. My dad, a very easy going guy- thought our behavior was cute- but of course never actually permitted our baby brother to step outside with candy
apple red fingernails and a crinoline skirt.

Fast forward twenty five years and now I have my own little boy and for me a window into the male psyche, a real understanding of how these young boys turn into men like my husband. And if I have any say in the matter any nurture versus nature to work in my favor I will do everything in my power to ensure he develops into an emotive, supportive and self actualized man (I know his spouse will thank me).

So, this weekend when my ten year old daughter and I were bound for our favorite salon to get mani pedis- the boy tagged along- because I had no play date options for him and figured he could watch  the large flat screen TV which adorns almost half the salon's wall (and I told
him if he was particularly good, we'd ask the owners to flip the channel to SpongeBob Squarepants). So here we, my daughter and I, sitting with our feet soaking in bubbling blue water laying back in heated massage chairs when my son  pulls my ear to his mouth and whispers ever sol gently, "Mommy can I get a manicure too?"

My immediate response- "OF COURSE, is there any color you'd like?"

His answer, " I just want the clear kind- but please tell them to soak my hands like they did with yours and give me a massage too."

See this kid is smart- he wants to be pampered-and why should that privilege be reserved just for his sister. Why shouldn't he get his hands treated with care and lovingly wrapped in lotions and potions? So of course I acquiesced, and the three of us all got our manicures in perfect harmony. That is until we arrived home and my son holding out his nails the entire car ride home because he was afraid of messing them up-showed my husband his perfectly coiffed hands.

My husband is a real man's man- I don't think he's ever touched a moisturizer, or let anyone even go near his eyebrows that are in major need of a weed whacking. He's old school- and also 15 years older than me- a man of a certain age and time period where the word metrosexual didnt exist.

I understand it- I get it. But being that he is living in the year 2011, raising a son who is defining masculinity and defining the role of  manhood in a vastly different way than he did ( you know in the stone ages!) I tell my husband point blank; we can let our son get a manicure with no repercussions. I try to explain to my husband that it's okay- and in my opinion getting a clear polish manicure  just makes him a kid who enjoys being groomed. Or maybe it's deeper than
that. But who knows, at six years old, I am willing and able to let him explore every facet of his personality without recrimination. And I am hoping my fifty three year old husband will do the same.