Just a note to follow up on my last post (and yes, we’ve been away again, hence the dry spell in posting). I appreciate everyone’s thoughtful comments — I think that you see the tension that I feel sometimes between the need or want to educate, open minds, etc, and the desire sometimes to just BE. Be me, be with my boy, etc.
But, in the instance of the airport, I wasn’t considering correcting the woman who referred to Q as a girl. In reflecting on that interaction, I decided to write about it not because of the woman’s confusion, but because I discovered that, at the bottom of the many layers of discomfort that might occur, was my OWN discomfort at what might be thought or said about ME if I let on that Q is, in fact, a boy. My own fear of judgment — of me and my boy. And it was a bit of an ugly truth for me to uncover. And thus, I thought it warranted sharing as part of my own journey here. I’m always astounded when things come back to my own fear of discomfort or embarrassment, and I think that’s important to record and care. Hence the post.
Hope that clarified a bit.
More to come, but I’d also love to hear from you: What would you like to see on these pages? What stories? What reflections? What commentaries on issues beyond me and my boy but related to the topics herein? I’d love to hear from you.
I came across your blog today, and because I have little to do here at work for the moment, went all the way back to May 2008 and have read up to this point.
First: Awesome!
I want to say that I appreciate that while this is a story about a boy who likes to wear dresses, purple, etc… this is not necessarily his story… it reads to me as your story about being the mother of a boy who likes to wear dresses, purple, etc. and how you move through the world with that information.
I also appreciate that you are honest about your own fears and boundries.
As for the woman (who left the absurd comment about you pushing your son into being gay) … it seems your son loves you very much, and when he grows older and can read this blog… I hope that he sees it as an homage to a mom who may have struggled with his choices (and her choices around them), but loved him as much as she could just the same.
keep up the good work.