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In our home, we have a back door that is mostly glass, which is very handy for watching the kids romp around the back yard while the wife and I enjoy the air conditioning. I don’t think I remember ever being hot as a kid; I just ran and jumped and played, oblivious of the temperature. Now… not so much. Anyway, this back door is effectively an oversized window, providing a convenient view of the outside world from the inside. So, we usually keep the blinds pulled back so we can enjoy our quaint little suburban back yard and all it entails.

Unfortunately, glass has a two-way quality. This back door is effectively an oversized window, providing a convenient view of the inside world from the outside. And, since we usually keep the blinds pulled back so we can look out, that means others can also look in. And with a two-story house that can see over our privacy fence behind us, this poses a quandary.

Clothing Optional

You see, the Osgood home is, for the most part, a very laid back home when it’s just us. Generally, we’re pretty “clothing optional” about things, with both parents and kids. I don’t mean to suggest we practice (much less enforce) nudism. Not in the slightest. We just don’t make a big deal out of exposure within the comfort of our own home.

In practice, this doesn’t mean we go around stark naked all the time, though I won’t pretend I’ve never wandered into the kitchen for a midnight glass of water while in the buff. Full nudity isn’t common, but we’re frequently close to it, especially in the heat of the summer.

From me in a pair of boxers to my wife in her underwear, lingerie, or even just a pair of panties, if we don’t have company, we occasionally don’t have all of our clothes. And after the kids go to bed, the rest of the house sometimes becomes Mom and Dad’s playground, and all the remaining clothing may come off.

The kids are just as free, though they’re just kids, so I’m not too concerned. Without hesitation I’ll let them romp through sprinklers in the back yard in just their birthday suits — depending on their age, of course. So what they wear inside the home is very flexible once they potty train. Naturally, again, this can be different with company over (though who can really stop a four year old fresh out of the tub from streaking through the living room?), but as a rule, they’re free to be relaxed like their parents when it’s just us (once they’re old enough to be sanitary).

I’m not concerned about our kids. It’s the wife and me that concern that back door.

About Dimensions

When it comes to a bedroom window, I don’t bother with any concern. It offers a narrow view through a small opening, and if someone’s determined enough to look inside that tiny little portal to see us wandering about our room naked, then I almost feel like they’ve worked hard enough to earn that glimpse. And frankly, we probably wouldn’t have stopped so determined a peeper anyway.

But this back door is like a massive window, and its large dimensions offer a clear view of much of the common area of our “open floor plan”. Admittedly, the privacy fence does its job, keeping ground-level folks from seeing all the way into our home, but a second-story watcher could potentially see a sizable portion of our home’s interior. They could watch us eat dinner in our pajamas or lingerie, wash dishes in our underwear, or have special time on the dining table after the kids go down (probably because we were just eating dinner in our pajamas or lingerie and washing dishes in our underwear, and one thing led to another).

Our fence forces a narrow view and someone would have to be looking at the right time, from the right place, while their window was also uncovered, but even remote possibilities are possibilities.

Window Coverings

I know what you’re thinking: just draw the blinds.

But honestly, I’m usually too caught up in the moment to even think about such things, much less to be motivated to do anything about it. I do frequently pull the blinds closed, but sometimes I don’t. And I’ve decided not to be concerned about it.

I’m not trying to put on some exhibitionist peep show for the whole world, but I’m not going to stress about someone seeing something when they look into my home. If they do, that’s on them. I’m not parading myself, but I’m also not going to hide while in the privacy of my own home just on principle.

Maybe that fact makes me the weirdo. If so, it better get in line, ‘cause lots of things make me a weirdo. I’m okay with that.

If you’re that determined to watch, grab yourself some popcorn and binoculars and have at it. But don’t bother us; we’re busy, can’t you tell?

Originally posted 2017-03-27 08:00:08.