June is pride month–maybe you knew that before June, but I did not. In fact, I planned a whole vacation to Washington DC and New York at the end of June without having realized that it was pride month. We spent 4 days in DC and then took a train to New York, which was such a cool experience!! I had my oldest 3 children with me. At the time their ages were 13, 12, and 10. We went to see Wicked on Broadway, almost as soon as we arrived–which was AMAZING!!
Afterward, we sauntered on over to Times Square. The display was colorful and bold–and pretty overwhelming to the senses! It was upon arriving at Times Square that I truly started to take in everything! There was a drag show on one side with loud music playing. Please know that we had seen plenty of rainbows in several different variations since arriving, but the display at Times Square was the thing that made me realize the magnitude of celebration going on there. We truly had walked in on a real time parade of sorts. You see, we live in a pretty conservative city in Colorado, and while my kids have heard about different sexuality and genders and the like, it is definitely not an everyday conversation for them. This was the first time in which our family dynamic felt like the minority.
I will just take a moment to say here that we teach love in our home. We emphasize the importance of treating everybody with the same respect with which we hope others treat us. Shout out for the golden rule!!!
At one point my 10 year boy said out loud while we were walking down the street, “Why are there so many men dressed like women here?” I immediately pulled him into my side and asked him what he thought about it. He responded with, “I don’t really like it. I don’t think it looks good.” I said, “And that’s ok, you don’t have to like it, but we definitely don’t make fun of other people for liking it.” This resonated with him and he agreed.
And THIS is what I want to say. I told my son that he doesn’t have to agree with what he saw, but he still has to be a good human and respect others with whom he may not agree. I tell him that, anticipating that others are teaching their children to do the same thing. I understand that this can be a tricky topic, but that doesn’t mean we should avoid it.
It is my hope that my children would never be the cause of another’s grief or anguish concerning their sexuality or identity. I hope to raise humans that support others in their struggles or discoveries. Likewise, I do not want my children to be ridiculed or hated for their sexuality or identity. We live in a world where too often those that hold a different set of standards than our own are vilified. May we all decide that love really is more important to express even when opinions differ.
Overall, we really enjoyed our family vacation! It was magical! If I had to do it over again, I’d maybe skip New York in June, only because I didn’t want that to be the trip’s emphasis. We were able to have deep and meaningful discussions with our children about standing for what we believe in and respecting others that do the same, and in an everchanging world, my wish is that this truth remains present for all of us–it is most important to show kindness regardless of our orientation or favorite color of the rainbow!!!
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Kayleen
Sounds like teaching them love is a good answer! I hope it society tries to focus on that more!
What a wonderful way to initiate an important conversation with your kids. ❤️