come on in the water's fine
There are too many currents against which parents must swim, dragging their children behind them.
We now have a 15-minute recess for elementary schools. Also, the art room has been converted into a study hall.
But my children need play and art. They need play and art more than math when they're 7.
Suck it up, kid, be a man. What, are you going to cry? Like a little girl?
But my sons have hearts. They get scared and sad and hurt. Yeah, just like little girls. And big girls. And men, too.
You should have more toys! You need more toys!
But they really, really don't.
Give Auntie a kiss. You have to give Auntie a kiss or it'll hurt her feelings.
But it's his body. He doesn't have to kiss anybody he doesn't want to, not ever. And neither will his girlfriends or boyfriends. Auntie needs another source of self-esteem.
Are you one of THOSE people? The ones who won't order a hamburger unless they know the name of the cow? Move to Portland already.
But I'm putting this food into my body, and my kids' bodies. Yeah. It matters to me. And why do you care what I eat?
Are you one of THOSE people? The ones who don't care about where your food comes from?
I only have so much, you guys. I can't care about everything, always. Please give me a break.
Swim, swim, swim. Kick, kick, kick. Pull, pull, pull.
You can't really see. You can't touch bottom. You're just aiming for a spot on the horizon. The one you feel is home.
You're trying, trying, trying to stay afloat. Trying to right the wrongs of your own life, trying to raise children with love in their hearts and strong spines and heads just hard enough.
And we're only human. And the tide is tireless. And sometimes we have to give up and float for awhile. Sometimes we sink.
Today I have one less current to pull me and mine off-course. We can rest. For a minute.
Today I can say to my sons,
Whomever you love, you can marry.
Not
If you stay in certain places.
Not
If you call it a civil union.
Not
If it's okay with everybody else.
Just
whomever you love, you can marry.
Take a breath. Take a dive. Stand on your head. Splash madly the way babies do.
Or drift.
Just drift.
You can trust this current. It's taking you home.
We now have a 15-minute recess for elementary schools. Also, the art room has been converted into a study hall.
But my children need play and art. They need play and art more than math when they're 7.
Suck it up, kid, be a man. What, are you going to cry? Like a little girl?
But my sons have hearts. They get scared and sad and hurt. Yeah, just like little girls. And big girls. And men, too.
You should have more toys! You need more toys!
But they really, really don't.
Give Auntie a kiss. You have to give Auntie a kiss or it'll hurt her feelings.
But it's his body. He doesn't have to kiss anybody he doesn't want to, not ever. And neither will his girlfriends or boyfriends. Auntie needs another source of self-esteem.
Are you one of THOSE people? The ones who won't order a hamburger unless they know the name of the cow? Move to Portland already.
But I'm putting this food into my body, and my kids' bodies. Yeah. It matters to me. And why do you care what I eat?
Are you one of THOSE people? The ones who don't care about where your food comes from?
I only have so much, you guys. I can't care about everything, always. Please give me a break.
Swim, swim, swim. Kick, kick, kick. Pull, pull, pull.
You can't really see. You can't touch bottom. You're just aiming for a spot on the horizon. The one you feel is home.
You're trying, trying, trying to stay afloat. Trying to right the wrongs of your own life, trying to raise children with love in their hearts and strong spines and heads just hard enough.
And we're only human. And the tide is tireless. And sometimes we have to give up and float for awhile. Sometimes we sink.
Today I have one less current to pull me and mine off-course. We can rest. For a minute.
Today I can say to my sons,
Whomever you love, you can marry.
Not
If you stay in certain places.
Not
If you call it a civil union.
Not
If it's okay with everybody else.
Just
whomever you love, you can marry.
 |
| it's so beautiful my rainbow |
Take a breath. Take a dive. Stand on your head. Splash madly the way babies do.
Or drift.
Just drift.
You can trust this current. It's taking you home.