Kegan is only five, but is very precocious. Today she asked me to read her the Diary of Anne Frank. While it is one of my favorite books, I don't think it is appropriate for a not quite six year old. She knows the premise, "During World War 2 there were a group of really bad people who felt like some people, like Jewish people, should not be allowed to live. So these Nazi's would send the Jewish people to concentration camps and sometimes kill them. Anne Frank and her family were so lucky that some very kind and brave people hid them for two years, bringing them food, and clothes, and protecting them from the Nazi's. Until someone found out and Anne and her family were arrested."
She doesn't know much more than that and I still find myself questioning how appropriate it was to have told her that much. But she reads and saw something about World War 2 somewhere and I had to give her an intro a few months ago. Then she heard us talking about the Anne Frank house...and so her education is constantly growing while her innocence is being drained.
While I was telling her that I didn't read the Diary of Anne Frank until I was 12 and I felt she was a little too young for it still, she asked me, "Why did the Nazi's not like the Jews?" And as I have wondered myself for years, I found I could not adequately answer her question. How does a person or worse an entire group of people decide to systematically hate an entire demographic?
And then I thought, "Well it wasn't just the Jews the Nazi's were against." Luckily that stayed in my head because immediately my next thought was, "Kegan, you would have been a marked person, The Nazi's did not want transgender people to live either." Even with her blonde hair and fair skin, she would have been a blight on their society. Not a blight like she might be in today's society in America, but so much so my daughter could be sent to a Concentration Camp, could be sent to the gas chamber, or just shot as she stepped off a train looking around at all the other unwanteds trying to find their bearings.
My daughter could have been an Anne Frank. Not because she is Jewish, but simply because the Nazis hated people like my child.
And then my heart broke, again. Like it always does as I think of the cruelty my child will face even though it is not 1944 anymore.
Showing posts with label Reflections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reflections. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
"I am a Girl, Not I am a Girl, but...
We had our playdate today. It went without a hitch. Kegan totally passes, so that is truly never a concern. Watching her with two other little girls was peaceful. Not in a zen-yoga-lady kind of way, just it was good to see her in her element. The date was outdoors and casual, but organized enough to keep things moving along. It was good.
As we were driving home, it occurred to me, if I truly accept and truly believe in my heart and mind that she is a girl, that her birth certificate is errored, that we have simply misidentified her all these years, then no one needs to be told. It is not as if I would ever identify to anyone what Sean has going on between his legs. The thought would never be necessary, it would never cross my mind. I realized, this is in fact, much simpler than I have been making it, "She is a girl. Not she is a girl, but..."
I spoke with our therapist last night and she told me that telling after the second date is likely premature. She suggested it is not necessary to tell ever or maybe after 10-15 play dates it would make sense. Unless there is a sleepover or a swimming play date, there is no reason to share that information yet. And even when it is a sleepover or swimming date the information is shared as a safety precaution for Kegan, not to quantify her right to the label "girl." (More on safety later.)
She explained that sometimes when you are in the "Telling Phase," the brain gets locked into telling people and it becomes difficult to discriminate between who to tell and who not to tell. That resonated with me because we have been having to tell everyone. This is the first family that only knows Kegan as Kegan, not as "Kegan, formerly known as a boy."
Our therapist said that sometimes when people find out, even if they are accepting, they still treat the child differently. Kegan deserves to have a childhood as a girl without these layers of transgender issues. Kegan is a girl, not she is a girl, but. We need to let her just be that girl. People see her as a girl, she knows herself to be a girl, she should get the same childhood that any girl gets. Her femininity or girlness should not be constantly evaluated or labelled or characterized with ifs and buts.
We are not keeping her identity as transgender a secret, but it is private. That was a hard sentence for me to understand because sometimes when we are stealth, I feel like by not telling, we are making it something to be ashamed of. But a secret is something you carry by yourself, private is something some people know about, but not the whole world. There is a distinct difference and private is appropriate for many things. Private is not shameful, it is just private and personal.
As far as safety, we have to balance her right to privacy with her absolute, non-negotiable need for safety. If she is at a sleepover and her penis is observed it could lead to an unsafe situation. The therapist said we don't need to scare her and suggested using the words, "It can confuse people. Most boys have penises and most girls have vaginas, some girls though, like you, have a penis. But since most girls don't have penises, it can confuse people when they first find out a girl has a penis. It is something unexpected and so it can be confusing." That makes sense to me. It makes being transgender a slice on the spectrum of gender. Certainly if people might be confused we want to be preemptive before they discover inadvertently. Certainly being confused is acceptable for many areas of life. Certainly being confused is not the same as unaccepting.
Our awesome therapist assured me, we are not tricking people, we are not lying. We are just letting our daughter be the girl she is freely. We are letting Kegan free to be the girl she is. She doesn't need a clause defining her girlness, she is a girl as much as I am.
I knew that before, but now I truly "get it." She was equal to her peers today in their claim to being a girl. She is a girl, not she is a girl but!
As we were driving home, it occurred to me, if I truly accept and truly believe in my heart and mind that she is a girl, that her birth certificate is errored, that we have simply misidentified her all these years, then no one needs to be told. It is not as if I would ever identify to anyone what Sean has going on between his legs. The thought would never be necessary, it would never cross my mind. I realized, this is in fact, much simpler than I have been making it, "She is a girl. Not she is a girl, but..."
I spoke with our therapist last night and she told me that telling after the second date is likely premature. She suggested it is not necessary to tell ever or maybe after 10-15 play dates it would make sense. Unless there is a sleepover or a swimming play date, there is no reason to share that information yet. And even when it is a sleepover or swimming date the information is shared as a safety precaution for Kegan, not to quantify her right to the label "girl." (More on safety later.)
She explained that sometimes when you are in the "Telling Phase," the brain gets locked into telling people and it becomes difficult to discriminate between who to tell and who not to tell. That resonated with me because we have been having to tell everyone. This is the first family that only knows Kegan as Kegan, not as "Kegan, formerly known as a boy."
Our therapist said that sometimes when people find out, even if they are accepting, they still treat the child differently. Kegan deserves to have a childhood as a girl without these layers of transgender issues. Kegan is a girl, not she is a girl, but. We need to let her just be that girl. People see her as a girl, she knows herself to be a girl, she should get the same childhood that any girl gets. Her femininity or girlness should not be constantly evaluated or labelled or characterized with ifs and buts.
We are not keeping her identity as transgender a secret, but it is private. That was a hard sentence for me to understand because sometimes when we are stealth, I feel like by not telling, we are making it something to be ashamed of. But a secret is something you carry by yourself, private is something some people know about, but not the whole world. There is a distinct difference and private is appropriate for many things. Private is not shameful, it is just private and personal.
As far as safety, we have to balance her right to privacy with her absolute, non-negotiable need for safety. If she is at a sleepover and her penis is observed it could lead to an unsafe situation. The therapist said we don't need to scare her and suggested using the words, "It can confuse people. Most boys have penises and most girls have vaginas, some girls though, like you, have a penis. But since most girls don't have penises, it can confuse people when they first find out a girl has a penis. It is something unexpected and so it can be confusing." That makes sense to me. It makes being transgender a slice on the spectrum of gender. Certainly if people might be confused we want to be preemptive before they discover inadvertently. Certainly being confused is acceptable for many areas of life. Certainly being confused is not the same as unaccepting.
Our awesome therapist assured me, we are not tricking people, we are not lying. We are just letting our daughter be the girl she is freely. We are letting Kegan free to be the girl she is. She doesn't need a clause defining her girlness, she is a girl as much as I am.
I knew that before, but now I truly "get it." She was equal to her peers today in their claim to being a girl. She is a girl, not she is a girl but!
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Names of Roses
I just submitted some claims to our FSA account and it is so strange to see Kegan's old name on the paperwork and is even stranger to click the box next to that name. I realize it is just a name, but at the same time it is not "just a name." It is her old name, her name when we thought she was a boy, her past.
We still have photos of her when she looked like a boy on display in the house. So far we have not discussed removing them, she hasn't asked and we haven't offered. She seems very confident in her life...this is who I was and this is who I am now. Maybe because she transitioned so young she won't ever ask us to take the photos down.
Somehow the photos don't seem wrong, like her name on the insurance bills do. Maybe because we all look different in old photos...certainly not as different as Kegan does or will. But hairstyles change color, length, height(!!); clothes change drastically between decades...sometimes it is hard to recognize who we were or who we thought we were. If she does ask us to remove them or place them out of sight of visitors, we will honor her request without delay.
I was literally about to type, "But I honestly don't expect her to make that request," when I flashed to her teen years and friends coming over to visit and suddenly I thought, "Yeah, she is probably going to ask." Then I flashed to an upcoming playdate with a new friend who did not know Kegan prior to her transition. Will Kegan want this child to continue to not know, at least until when/if they become good pals? (This brings up a whole new set of concerns: who deserves to know? Who needs to know?) This playdate just went from a fun new opportunity to a huge risk somehow. The playdate is not even at our home....I am just projecting ahead to if this neutral location goes well.
Maybe our photos will be coming down. It makes me sad if they do, not because I need to have photos to remember her past, but because the thought of her feeling the need to hide or forget her past shatters my heart.
We still have photos of her when she looked like a boy on display in the house. So far we have not discussed removing them, she hasn't asked and we haven't offered. She seems very confident in her life...this is who I was and this is who I am now. Maybe because she transitioned so young she won't ever ask us to take the photos down.
Somehow the photos don't seem wrong, like her name on the insurance bills do. Maybe because we all look different in old photos...certainly not as different as Kegan does or will. But hairstyles change color, length, height(!!); clothes change drastically between decades...sometimes it is hard to recognize who we were or who we thought we were. If she does ask us to remove them or place them out of sight of visitors, we will honor her request without delay.
I was literally about to type, "But I honestly don't expect her to make that request," when I flashed to her teen years and friends coming over to visit and suddenly I thought, "Yeah, she is probably going to ask." Then I flashed to an upcoming playdate with a new friend who did not know Kegan prior to her transition. Will Kegan want this child to continue to not know, at least until when/if they become good pals? (This brings up a whole new set of concerns: who deserves to know? Who needs to know?) This playdate just went from a fun new opportunity to a huge risk somehow. The playdate is not even at our home....I am just projecting ahead to if this neutral location goes well.
Maybe our photos will be coming down. It makes me sad if they do, not because I need to have photos to remember her past, but because the thought of her feeling the need to hide or forget her past shatters my heart.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
The Hard Stuff
I recently wrote a post in response to the not infrequent comments my husband and I get about how incredibly difficult this journey must be for our family. The only thing that makes it truly hard, right now, is the lack of acceptance or the ignoring by family or friends. A transsexual woman commented on that post that I must really know it is actually quite hard for Kegan (or will be as she ages). I wanted to address that.
Certainly, I know it is so hard to be transgender. I am totally aware of how difficult it is to be a girl with a penis (as much as I can be aware, as a girl with a vulva). The other day I was explaining to Sean about why, as a girl, I don't have a penis and had to stop because, well, not all girls have vulvas...some of them, like my daughter have a penis. I get it. It is actually really hard.
I know that my daughter is part of a community who has an astronomical suicide attempt rate. 41% versus less than 2% for the general population. That thought crosses my mind daily. Daily. I am constantly aware that my daughter has a close to 50% chance of attempting suicide simply because of who she is.
Unemployment is higher among trans* individuals. My daughter could be fired from a job (if she was old enough to have one that is!) in many states just because she is transgender. Getting a driver's license photo taken is not just about trying to smile in time for the DMV customer service rep but convincing him or her to allow you to look like you look on a daily basis. It is not easy to be transgender.
Do I worry about who will love my child? My only hope is for my kids to be happy and safe in life. Who will love this flawed human being who by the way also has a penis but is actually a girl? Will she be a lesbian? Will that make physical love easier? I have no idea, I am utterly ignorant on how to help her figure all this out. Will she be straight? Will there be a man who is comfortable with non-traditional sex to love her enough as she is? Does it make me sad (and stunned) that at not even six years old I am worrying about my child's future sex life? It does. Worrying about her marriage prospects. Worrying about people accepting her not only today, but next week, next month, next year, when she is 14, 16, 18, 22, 33, 46, 57, 63.
When my daughter is 89 and living in a skilled nursing facility will the world be kind to her? Will the caregivers be polite to her and call her Miss Kegan while giving her a bath and seeing her penis? Will they be mean behind her back? Will some of them refuse to care for her because she does not meet their norms? Will some of them not answer her call button when she needs help because of who she is? My daughter is six and I literally worry about her end of life days when she is an old lady. How messed up is that? Thanks society!
Have we lost family and friends who can't accept her? Yep. Do I dread the day she figures out that it hasn't just "been awhile since we saw certain people"? Yes. Do I fear the day she discovers she is not as "normal" as we have led her to believe? Do I wonder nightly if we should be telling her more truth today so it won't hurt so much tomorrow? Or is it right to keep her innocent, to build her strength and boldness now while our opinion is the only one that matters to her? Do I cry over my fear of not having the right words to help her when someone rejects her? I do. I do.
I question every decision we make. Most parents do that. I question ours purely because I want to do the right thing (like all parents), but also because if I screw this up my baby might try to kill herself. Do I wonder at what point I have to tell friends who don't know...what about sleep overs? Do those moms have a right to know that my daughter has a penis if their daughter is sleeping next to her at age ten during a slumber party? I don't know. I want it to not matter. But in our world, it sure seems to matter a lot.
I feel so sad that my daughter won't be able to carry a child under her heart if she desires that. Do I question if we should freeze her sperm if she decides to go on hormone blockers before puberty? I do...how crazy is that? She is five! Five and I am wondering...is it possible for a ten year old to masturbate to produce sperm for freezing so she might be able to have her own biological children one day? It is completely crazy.
So I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, this is hard. And as hard as it is for me, it will be ten million times harder for Kegan. But...the actual part of having a trans* kid...that is not hard. All of the above, with the exception of fertility, is directly responding to society. To the lack of acceptance by society. If society would just accept a non binary gender spectrum, if society would just be willing to evaluate the real problems in life (I made a small sample list on my post) then none of this would be hard. It would be a journey like any other life journey. Filled with joy, misery, love, heartache, sorrow, happiness, peace, anxiety. It would just be the "simple" life everyone has. Society makes it hard. People not accepting others makes it hard. The trans* part itself is not the hard.
I suppose ask me in 10 year when she is 16. Maybe I am speaking too early. But for right now, this is where I am. And all the hard comes from one place...the world. Never from my daughter's true self.
Disclaimer:
I think I might sound angry at my commenter and I am not. I am angry though. Angry that this conversation even needs to be had. I am so angry that my daughter will have a harder life than she needs to. I am angry that all these worries and fears come from people being unaccepting. I am thankful the commenter pointed out it is really hard for her and it will be really hard for my daughter, But I already knew that (sadly). I just wish the origin of what makes it hard could be solved. To do that we need to fix society to accept all human beings where they are right now.
Certainly, I know it is so hard to be transgender. I am totally aware of how difficult it is to be a girl with a penis (as much as I can be aware, as a girl with a vulva). The other day I was explaining to Sean about why, as a girl, I don't have a penis and had to stop because, well, not all girls have vulvas...some of them, like my daughter have a penis. I get it. It is actually really hard.
I know that my daughter is part of a community who has an astronomical suicide attempt rate. 41% versus less than 2% for the general population. That thought crosses my mind daily. Daily. I am constantly aware that my daughter has a close to 50% chance of attempting suicide simply because of who she is.
Unemployment is higher among trans* individuals. My daughter could be fired from a job (if she was old enough to have one that is!) in many states just because she is transgender. Getting a driver's license photo taken is not just about trying to smile in time for the DMV customer service rep but convincing him or her to allow you to look like you look on a daily basis. It is not easy to be transgender.
Do I worry about who will love my child? My only hope is for my kids to be happy and safe in life. Who will love this flawed human being who by the way also has a penis but is actually a girl? Will she be a lesbian? Will that make physical love easier? I have no idea, I am utterly ignorant on how to help her figure all this out. Will she be straight? Will there be a man who is comfortable with non-traditional sex to love her enough as she is? Does it make me sad (and stunned) that at not even six years old I am worrying about my child's future sex life? It does. Worrying about her marriage prospects. Worrying about people accepting her not only today, but next week, next month, next year, when she is 14, 16, 18, 22, 33, 46, 57, 63.
When my daughter is 89 and living in a skilled nursing facility will the world be kind to her? Will the caregivers be polite to her and call her Miss Kegan while giving her a bath and seeing her penis? Will they be mean behind her back? Will some of them refuse to care for her because she does not meet their norms? Will some of them not answer her call button when she needs help because of who she is? My daughter is six and I literally worry about her end of life days when she is an old lady. How messed up is that? Thanks society!
Have we lost family and friends who can't accept her? Yep. Do I dread the day she figures out that it hasn't just "been awhile since we saw certain people"? Yes. Do I fear the day she discovers she is not as "normal" as we have led her to believe? Do I wonder nightly if we should be telling her more truth today so it won't hurt so much tomorrow? Or is it right to keep her innocent, to build her strength and boldness now while our opinion is the only one that matters to her? Do I cry over my fear of not having the right words to help her when someone rejects her? I do. I do.
I question every decision we make. Most parents do that. I question ours purely because I want to do the right thing (like all parents), but also because if I screw this up my baby might try to kill herself. Do I wonder at what point I have to tell friends who don't know...what about sleep overs? Do those moms have a right to know that my daughter has a penis if their daughter is sleeping next to her at age ten during a slumber party? I don't know. I want it to not matter. But in our world, it sure seems to matter a lot.
I feel so sad that my daughter won't be able to carry a child under her heart if she desires that. Do I question if we should freeze her sperm if she decides to go on hormone blockers before puberty? I do...how crazy is that? She is five! Five and I am wondering...is it possible for a ten year old to masturbate to produce sperm for freezing so she might be able to have her own biological children one day? It is completely crazy.
So I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, this is hard. And as hard as it is for me, it will be ten million times harder for Kegan. But...the actual part of having a trans* kid...that is not hard. All of the above, with the exception of fertility, is directly responding to society. To the lack of acceptance by society. If society would just accept a non binary gender spectrum, if society would just be willing to evaluate the real problems in life (I made a small sample list on my post) then none of this would be hard. It would be a journey like any other life journey. Filled with joy, misery, love, heartache, sorrow, happiness, peace, anxiety. It would just be the "simple" life everyone has. Society makes it hard. People not accepting others makes it hard. The trans* part itself is not the hard.
I suppose ask me in 10 year when she is 16. Maybe I am speaking too early. But for right now, this is where I am. And all the hard comes from one place...the world. Never from my daughter's true self.
Disclaimer:
I think I might sound angry at my commenter and I am not. I am angry though. Angry that this conversation even needs to be had. I am so angry that my daughter will have a harder life than she needs to. I am angry that all these worries and fears come from people being unaccepting. I am thankful the commenter pointed out it is really hard for her and it will be really hard for my daughter, But I already knew that (sadly). I just wish the origin of what makes it hard could be solved. To do that we need to fix society to accept all human beings where they are right now.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Follow Up to "Acceptance"
I just realized my family isn't defined by society's normal anymore. We belong to a new community, the community of families who don't fit neatly into some 1950's stereotype. I knew our family was different, but I have mostly thought of Kegan as the one who is defying social constructs. I thought of the rest of us as just members of her family. The people who champion her, support her, love her, stand up for her and beside her, but mostly her supporting cast versus her fellow leads.
On some level, I am sure I knew our family didn't get to check the box for "same ethnicity/race/creed, heterosexual, two kids, cisgender family" anymore, but even though this transition is a transition for our whole family, it ultimately is Kegan who has to face the biggest challenges and so I hadn't really considered our family challenges.
After I posted my proud little "we are such an accepting family" post I watched some of the Honey Maid videos on the families in their "This is Wholesome" commercial. I then watched their follow up video they made in response to the negative feedback they received for such a beautiful, truthful, perfect commercial.
As I watched the "Love" video tears streamed down my cheeks. I saw words like, "Horrible. NOT wholesome." and "DO NOT APPROVE!" and "Disgusting!!" Those comments are not only about the beautiful families in this commercial, but about my family, about my kids, and I don't ever want them to know how hateful people may be to them because of who Kegan is. Kegan is perfect, she is a perfect little girl whose heart is alive and joyful. Sean is a sweet, sweet little boy who loves his sister, who will do anything to make her laugh, who will not stop breaking a rule if "But Kegan is laughing Mommy!" We are normal, we are a family, we are love.
My heart doesn't ache for the loss of our "normal" label. In fact, it doesn't ache for that at all. It aches for the rejection our kids could face because we don't get to wear that label on our shirts anymore. It aches for the rejection my child will face because she was born in a boy body, but has the brain and heart of a girl.
My tears turned from sorrow to peace as the response continued and Honey Maid said they had received ten times as much positive feedback! I saw words like, "family is family" and "makes my heart happy," and "folks like my family," and "We applaud Honey Maid." Honey Maid said the truth, "That only one thing really matters when it comes to family: Love." They nailed it.
Honey Maid while trying to sell some crackers has validated my family and so many other families. They have validated my child as a person worthy of love, a human being deserving of kindness, a member of our beautiful family equal in her worth to every other little girl who graces this earth.
Our family has left the majority of families who do fit neatly into the "normal" box and we have joined a new community. A diverse, beautiful, strong community of people who fit into our own boxes. Our boxes may not have four ninety degree angles, but they are overflowing with love. And that is really the only thing that makes a family.
On some level, I am sure I knew our family didn't get to check the box for "same ethnicity/race/creed, heterosexual, two kids, cisgender family" anymore, but even though this transition is a transition for our whole family, it ultimately is Kegan who has to face the biggest challenges and so I hadn't really considered our family challenges.
After I posted my proud little "we are such an accepting family" post I watched some of the Honey Maid videos on the families in their "This is Wholesome" commercial. I then watched their follow up video they made in response to the negative feedback they received for such a beautiful, truthful, perfect commercial.
As I watched the "Love" video tears streamed down my cheeks. I saw words like, "Horrible. NOT wholesome." and "DO NOT APPROVE!" and "Disgusting!!" Those comments are not only about the beautiful families in this commercial, but about my family, about my kids, and I don't ever want them to know how hateful people may be to them because of who Kegan is. Kegan is perfect, she is a perfect little girl whose heart is alive and joyful. Sean is a sweet, sweet little boy who loves his sister, who will do anything to make her laugh, who will not stop breaking a rule if "But Kegan is laughing Mommy!" We are normal, we are a family, we are love.
My heart doesn't ache for the loss of our "normal" label. In fact, it doesn't ache for that at all. It aches for the rejection our kids could face because we don't get to wear that label on our shirts anymore. It aches for the rejection my child will face because she was born in a boy body, but has the brain and heart of a girl.
My tears turned from sorrow to peace as the response continued and Honey Maid said they had received ten times as much positive feedback! I saw words like, "family is family" and "makes my heart happy," and "folks like my family," and "We applaud Honey Maid." Honey Maid said the truth, "That only one thing really matters when it comes to family: Love." They nailed it.
Honey Maid while trying to sell some crackers has validated my family and so many other families. They have validated my child as a person worthy of love, a human being deserving of kindness, a member of our beautiful family equal in her worth to every other little girl who graces this earth.
Our family has left the majority of families who do fit neatly into the "normal" box and we have joined a new community. A diverse, beautiful, strong community of people who fit into our own boxes. Our boxes may not have four ninety degree angles, but they are overflowing with love. And that is really the only thing that makes a family.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Acceptance
Do I even get to call it acceptance, if my kids don't even know there is any other option? Well, they know some people are bigoted against people who are different. They know some people think a man and a man should not be allowed to be married or that some people think African-Americans aren't as good as white people. What they don't know is, why that bigotry exists and I certainly can't tell them why. I do not know why people chose to be bigoted, why people chose to think there is only one right way to live, why people think people have a choice about who they are.
I know this: I can raise my kids in a home where love is always the first response. I can hope they take that with them when they leave.
Today we watched the HoneyMaid commercial and as we watched it I stopped it for each family's part. I asked my five year old, "What is happening here?" for each scene. Below are her answers for the ones that, I assume, seem to be causing all the uproar:
What is happening here?
I hope these commercials that show a variety of families will normalize these normal families. I hope that they teach that love is what makes a family, not matching skin tones or opposite genders. I hope my kids will always see nothing more than a family when they look at photos or real people who have chosen or been blessed to be together.
What Does Public Mean?
The other day as we were out, I mentioned, "Oh we are near the public library."
Kegan asked, "What does public mean?"
I said, "It means it is open to everyone."
She said, "So anyone can go there, no matter what color they are, if they are white or black or Asian. No matter what religion they are or what beliefs they have."
I was so proud that she understands how important it is to be aware of being fair and accepting of others despite our differences. I know, her understanding of the word "public" doesn't necessarily mean she actually does get it. But we preach that a lot and I think she is getting it. I think Kegan knows we always have more similarities with others than differences and we need to respect others.
I added, "No matter if they are a boy, girl, boy-girl, girl-boy. No matter if they have lots of education or hardly any education, No matter if they are rich with lots of money or poor with hardly any money."
I hope our kids belief that all people are worthy of love will always sway their hearts and lead them in their decisions. I hope they always have public hearts...open for everyone.
Kegan asked, "What does public mean?"
I said, "It means it is open to everyone."
She said, "So anyone can go there, no matter what color they are, if they are white or black or Asian. No matter what religion they are or what beliefs they have."
I was so proud that she understands how important it is to be aware of being fair and accepting of others despite our differences. I know, her understanding of the word "public" doesn't necessarily mean she actually does get it. But we preach that a lot and I think she is getting it. I think Kegan knows we always have more similarities with others than differences and we need to respect others.
I added, "No matter if they are a boy, girl, boy-girl, girl-boy. No matter if they have lots of education or hardly any education, No matter if they are rich with lots of money or poor with hardly any money."
I hope our kids belief that all people are worthy of love will always sway their hearts and lead them in their decisions. I hope they always have public hearts...open for everyone.
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