The talk of the 3rd grade...

At the First Day parade at Danny's school all of the littlest ones got paired up with a big third grader for the procession. Danny's new friend was a delightful little guy who chattered away in Spanish and English. Since parents were encouraged to march too, Su and I were there as well as this little boy's mom.

I was holding Danny's hand while Su balanced holding Benji and snapping photos. Then at one point during the march Ricardo asked if I was Danny's mom. I told him "Sure I am. Actually Danny's got two moms. I'm one of his moms and she's his other mom."

He was a bit confused I could tell. Then as he was asking for clarification, his mom interjected in Spanish that we must have meant that I was Danny's "abuela" or grandmother (doh!) and Su was his mom. "No, actually, we are married to each other". She seemed a bit perplexed but then I explained that since the law had changed in DC we could be legally married. Ah, this made sense. She'd heard enough of the news about gay marriage being legalized to know what we were talking about. Then little Ricardo called out to a few 3rd grade friends to tell them that his little friend had 2 moms. He'd never heard of such a thing. It was fun to watch their little brains try and figure this one out.

Ricardo's mom didn't miss a beat. She asked how long we'd been married and then happily chatted as we walked, even helped carry Benji, and sat with Su and me at the parents' breakfast after the parade. She was lovely.

I guess I feel happy that our being legally married help it all make sense to someone who had not known any gay parents before. I was happy that little Ricardo seemed interested rather than taken aback by Danny's family. (In fact, earlier in the march we were talking about languages and when he learned Susanne spoke German to Danny sometimes asked for a demo. I think he may now believe that all gay moms speak German! ;-)

We know the principal of Danny's school really well and shared with her a link to the Welcoming Schools Guide put out by the Human Rights Campaign. She was delighted, and in fact mentioned that a teacher was wondering how to do the "family tree" project with a child who has two moms. Well, Danny has a family tree and we are happy to share it, and work to help teachers with any questions they may have.

Anyway, have a great day. Can't wait to hear how the little guys third day of "big boy school" went. So far so great! -Monica