Confession: We do not shut bathroom doors in our house while relieving ourselves, that is unless guests are over.

Lindsey and I inadvertently started the bad habit as newlyweds living in a small condo, wanting to maximize our conversation time. The practice has stuck, and often times one of use will even sit in the hallway to carry on a conversation, as if the other was merely sitting down as opposed to going to the bathroom. I guess we’re a modern day Adam’s Family.

Last week, I was making lunch for the girls while Sadie, our three-year old, dispensed u-boats in the guest bathroom toilet. As usual, the bathroom door was wide open so Sadie and I could talk should the “urge” arise. It didn’t take long.

“Daddy?” Sadie shouted. “I need some privacy.”

I laughed out loud, realizing she had finally caught on. But I also knew she didn’t know what “privacy” was, so I pressed her for the definition.

“What’s privacy?”

“Um, I don’t know,” she admitted, followed by a cute girly giggle. Thanks to the open door policy, we shared a hearty laugh with one another.

It seems Sadie discovered the word “privacy” while visiting a friend’s house recently, her mother tells me. Whenever she has to go potty there, her little buddy wants to join her, to which his mother says, “No, Sadie needs privacy.”

I suppose we’ll have to retire the tradition once the girls get older — we don’t want everyone’s bits and pieces to be public knowledge. But for now, I enjoy the added conversation it affords, even if I have to talk over a noisy exhaust fan.