Are We Really "Born This Way"? (2 of 2)

This is the part of me that you're never gonna ever take away from me,

Throw your sticks and your stones, throw your bombs and your blows,

But you're not gonna break my soul-

This is the part of me that you're never gonna ever take away from me, no.

--Katy Perry, "Part of Me"

When we last left our elementary school heroine, she routinely sat in the shrink's office, utterly confused as to why she was there.

Okay, enough with the third person.

I went to counseling on and off for about three years.  And one day, a lightbulb went off. I thought about Christmas, when I was roughly 6 years old, and I cried when my great aunt got me a Barbie doll. I thought about the Herculean effort it sometimes took for my mom to get me in dresses for church.  I thought about how most of my buddies were boys. I thought about how I was obsessed with baseball and played pretend games in which I was a male detective.

"I want to be a boy. I wish I was a boy" rang in my head.

Although it looks like someone else...even I can admit this is cute. (Age 6)

Are We Really "Born This Way"? (1 of 2)

I'm beautiful in my way, 'cause God makes no mistakes,

I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way.

--Lady Gaga, "Born This Way"

And now for a nature/ nurture presentation from our sponsors. LOL.

Seriously, I decided to write this post today after having read an article posted on Facebook and the comments that followed. The article was about a father's support of his "gay" 7-year-old son. Heartwarming, right?

Not to some people, of course.

Me at Halloween dressed as a Yankee - age 10

A Love Letter to Your Child

Today I want to share with you a wonderful post from the blog Momastery, which is now one of my favorite blogs. It contains one of the most beautiful, heartfelt expressions of love for one's child that I have ever read. Another blogger pointed me to it after I wrote the heated post, "We're Not Just Your Punching Bag." It was something I really needed to read.

The message is simple: love one another. The Bible says it. Cher says it. Countless other people have said it. But unless you really walk the walk and actually love your neighbors as yourselves without judging them, the words are hollow. The message is nothing without the application of its meaning.

Photo from readingacts.wordpress.com

We're Not Just Your Punching Bag

It's that time again: another presidential campaign season is upon us. And, as is typical for these things, the candidates vying for their party's nomination to run will pull out all the stops to convince voters and party leadership that they've got what it takes....no matter who they have to hurt or offend in the process. And no matter how elastic the truth has to be.

Why am I writing about this on my parenting blog, you may ask?  Because, of course, the ultra-conservative candidates fighting to be the Republican nominee are once again trotting out their favorite proverbial punching bag: gay rights in America. Particularly gay marriage and gay parenting.

And I already loved Kenneth Cole for his awesome clothes and accessories.

A Dialogue

Here's the deal. I'm having a bit of writer's block this week. Frankly, I'm amazed it hasn't happened before, given that I've been posting something almost every day since the beginning of June. It's a feeling I hate.

So, if you'll indulge me, I'll open myself up for a minute. I want this blog to be a success. I want to write something that matters, something that entertains, something that educates, something that resonates with you. When I get that feeling that I don't know what to write about, almost every time, it comes to me. Somehow, magically, it just works. Most of the time.

Photo from infobarrel.com

It's Unconditional

Blogger’s Note:  This post is written in honor of National Coming Out Day..... for all who have found the courage to live openly and honestly, for all those who are still struggling with that decision, and for those whose families have let them down. You are not alone. It does get better.

Unconditional love. We feel it with our kids. Maybe we feel it with our pets. Hopefully we feel it with our other loved ones and friends too……

……Until we don’t.  Sometimes we have a falling out, a difference of opinion that just feels too hard to handle, and we just stop talking. Or our loved one does something that bothers us so much we can’t feel the same way about them, no matter how hard we try.

It’s always sad when this happens. Unfortunately, though, these cycles are a part of life. 

But one thing they should never be is a barrier between us and our kids.

Where's the Accountability?!

I'm so upset today, I hardly know where to begin.  Read this article, and you'll know why.

What's especially sad is that this isn't the first, second, or even tenth such article I've read.  What I want to know is this:

How many kids will we have to lose to the bullying epidemic before progress is made?  Before kids stop seeing suicide as the best way to escape the torment?  What will it take?

Where is the accountability?

Jamey Rodemeyer

If It's Good Enough for Brad and Angelina.....

So, as you may or may not remember (my feelings will only be a little hurt if you don’t), I recently wrote about why marriage equality is important in my post, “When You Get Caught Between the Moon and New York City.” I stepped out of my comfort zone a little bit and spoke from the heart about why marriage matters to me, to lots of other gay people, and especially to our wonderful kids. 

When I started this parenting blog, I thought I should shy away from “controversial” issues for fear of alienating readers.  Obviously I want anyone and everyone to get in on our dialogue on My Life With Pie. But one thing I’ve noticed when I track the blog’s statistics (which really are fascinating) is that being true to myself works best. 

When You Get Caught Between the Moon and New York City....

Please forgive me an easy listening classics reference now and then. Christopher Cross was a favorite part of my nightly elementary school years, forced muzak bedtime routine (see “Alligator, Go Away!” for an explanation). And, that background has been invaluable to my “there’s a song for everything” philosophy.

Now, to the meaning behind my musical reference to romance and the Big Apple: as most of you probably know, last Friday night, New York became the 6^th state to pass a marriage equality measure for gay couples. Predictably, I had passed out with Anna while putting her to bed and I missed the actual vote. But I’m glad I woke up in time to hear the news and enjoy some of the jubilant coverage before dozing off again. Two years ago, we had such a celebration in my home state, thanks to a courageous legislature and governor….until a voter initiative narrowly stripped us of our newly found freedom to marry before we could even make it to City Hall for a license.

The Gender Divide

“I’m a boy,” she announces one day as we’re hanging out in the living room. “You’re a girl,” I reply. Then she says, “No, I’m a boy who climbs trees.” I had to chuckle.