If you’ve ever tried to find a place that you have never been, you know how much you rely in signs, maps, and instructions so that you don’t get lost. When signs are missing, or you don’t notice them, or they’re wrong, you can end up way off course.

That was me. After taking a major wrong turn on the high way of finding a wife, I was a single father with two girls in the nest.

Because of that wrong turn, most of the training, teaching, advising, and guiding was on me. As a practical matter, that was the only choice. I was fine with that, but I had to be inventive in some issues because I don’t have the equipment they have and therefore only have second hand data with regards to the maintenance and upkeep.

They were a little timid about some things. For example, I noticed that when we shopped if I bought toilet paper then they weren’t anywhere near the register as it was rung up. Way too personal. Same with underpants. They were fine with me paying for them, but during their tweens, they would die if they had to be there when someone ring those up and ‘knew’.

So I just extracted size data and when that vulnerable attire fell dangerously low in the drawer we’d go to the store where the items were picked out only when no other shopper was nearby.

I told my girls that at least half the people in the store also wore underwear. I told them no one cared. They understood, but we stuck with protocol: pick them out, then leave dad all by himself at the register until all the evidence was bagged.

The time came when I expected them to come and advise me that a new item would have to be acquired, but when it was not requested in a timely way, I had a dilemma: If I said nothing, then there could be problems considering the mess that my aforementioned wrong turn created, but if I did say something then it could be uncomfortable for them.  I didn’t want that, but I did want a remedy.

Finally I came up with the bright idea to appeal to the good maintenance theme. This was accomplished by telling them that the time may come when they would want to consider getting a bra. I told them that they might dismiss this as unnecessary but should consider the possible side effects both of wearing a bra and avoiding them. Time, I told them, was not always going to be on their side. It would work with gravity against them.

To show them the long term possible affect of not wearing a bra, should there ever come a time when they might have reason to consider wearing one, I presented one of my socks with a rock in the toe.

“You’ll end up with this profile,” I revealed.

Then, to show them the alternative, I presented another sock that had a sock rolled up and stuffed into the toe.

“Or you could wear a bra and have different results, long term.”

One of them, I think she said something like, “Oh my gosh, you did not just do that!”

How I explained to my most timid girls why they might consider wearing a bra. If the time ever came.

One of them blushed.

But it worked. We went to the store and used the exact same protocol as for other unmentionables except that this first time, I bought one of every style they had at the store in that size. My theory was that whatever came through the wash would be what won their vote. It was impossible to get them to use the fitting room. Nor could I ever convince them to let some sales lady in a ladies store guide them through selection and proper fitting. I tried. We came close, but they chickened out every time.

Happily, after a few years they took this over completely.