This week I have thoroughly thrown myself into the joy of summer living as we visit with my father and stepmother during their stay. My stepmother, Lindsay, brought me a new fair trade cook book called Desserts and Drinks from Around the World as a gift, and we got right to making and enjoying Pineapple Daiquiris, as well as some other variations of the recipe of our own design. It has been all about catching up on the back patio with a cool drink and the sound of little boys laughing.
My brothers and their families have been over as well, and today we enjoyed time as one big extended family with brats, pasta salads, and raspberry daiquiris for the grown-ups, lemonade for the kids, and formula for the baby cousin. Our boys ran and played among their uncles, aunties, grandparents and their baby cousin with laughter and confidence because they are surrounded with the love and affection of our very close, wonderfully funny family.
Before we all gathered though, John and I took the boys with their grandparent downtown to watch the Gay Pride Parade. It was Suki's first parade, and both the boys gathered heaps of candy, stickers and other prizes with each group that passed in front of us. The parade was a loud and colorful celebration of the scope of humanity as the GLBTQ community and we their allies joined together on Hennepin Ave. The overwhelming message of the many groups, organizations, businesses and politicians was to VOTE NO this November against the marriage amendment on the Minnesota ballot.
My older son has asked what it means to VOTE NO. This is a continuing conversation that started with the appearance of our MN United VOTE NO stickers on the cars and the Northeast VOTES NO pin on my purse, as well as our preparation for attending the parade. It's hard to explain intolerance and discrimination to a child so sweet and special, so I have instead focused on simplest aspect of this very political issue: love.
When two people love each other and want to be a family and may want to celebrate and share their love and commitment with children, they should be able to do so. And all families that are formed in the same way should share in that celebration because love is the essence of our humanity, and as one poster in the parade so succinctly put it: Every Family Matters. If a child can understand it, so should an adult.
We are a family that formed through barriers of heartbreak, trauma, and loss. We fought to be parents despite physical, financial and legal difficulties. We did this with the overwhelming gift of support from our families and friends. What binds our family is not DNA, gender, culture or region, but love. Love. Love. Love forever.
And we stand with any other family, gay or straight, who fights on for their right to love each other.
VOTE NO in November!
No comments:
Post a Comment