“But Mum,” Mulan asked with tractor-beam focus, “how can this ever happen? I mean, men and women, they can never be naked together.”

“Well,” I explained, “when people are older – much, much older than a kid – when they are older and they both decide they want to, in very certain circumstances, like if they’re in love with each other, well, then, they can be naked together.”

“But how do they know when?” Mulan asked. “Does the man say, ‘Is now the time to take off my pants?’”

We held each other’s gaze for a moment.

“Yes,” I said. “That’s exactly what they say.”

Julia Sweeney on her first conversation with her daughter about sex. (via garlandgrey)

(Source: garlandgrey.com)