“By the time my son reached Pre-K, there was no denying he was truly one fabulous little guy. People have asked me for years if Sam is gay or transgender. My response? ‘Sam is a child, and if I have anything to do with it, he’ll be a happy one.’”
‘The kid never leaves home without his purse. He spends his money on makeup, and loves all things pink and sparkly.’ Mom supports her 10-year-old non-binary son and ‘all his fabulousness’
‘Are you a boy or a girl?’ My daughter responded with the craziest look on her face. ‘I’m a girl!’ I knew she was gay. I always knew she was ‘different.’
“By the time she was 4, her tomboy phase became something different. I remember getting her ready for school. ‘Mom, I want to dress like a girl today!,’ she said. I went out to the living room and told my husband to ‘not make a big deal about what she was wearing.’ He was her protector.”
‘I came out during my valedictorian speech. For years, I kept my secret hidden until it ate away at my conscience. I cut everyone off, paranoid they’d notice.’
“I was taught that men do not cry, so all of my emotions were kept inside. When the day came, I was extremely nervous. I changed my mind over 15 times. I was sweating and told myself I couldn’t do it. But I knew I had to.”
‘I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this,’ he said, ‘but she is not pregnant. I just saw her at a family gathering last week.’ I felt sick to my stomach. With shaking hands, I called my wife.’
“A 19-year-old commented on our photo: ‘Hey, message me, it’s important.’ My heart skipped a beat – could this be good? I dialed as quickly as possible. ‘From the moment I saw you, I knew you were meant to be his moms.’”
‘What did you do to my child?! She’s telling me she’s our SON.’ That was the angry text I got from my ex-wife.’
“‘Do I need to start calling my beautiful little girl my son?’ First, while crying, I sent an admittedly angry reply back. Then I went back inside, dried my eyes, and woke her up. I knew my daughter was ‘different’ for a long time.”
‘My dad hates me,’ the girl whispered in my ear with a sullen look on her face. It was one of the first hugs I gave.’
“An hour later, a girl pointed to my shirt. ‘Hey, free dad hugs!’ The look on her face said everything I needed to know. She hugged me as if she hadn’t seen me in years. She walked away in tears, without ever saying a word. I’m nobody special. I’m just a regular dad.”
‘We were turned down by 35 surrogates because of our sexual orientation. We just wanted a baby to love and hold. We knew our journey wasn’t going to be easy.’
“When we finally found a surrogate, she was experiencing problems. We started to feel cursed. But right around 3am, we got the call of our lives.”
‘I stood and watched from afar. He found the one man in the mall he felt deserved recognition and a ‘thank you.’ A man wearing a Navy veteran’s hat.’
“Without hesitation, he respectfully stood before that man who came 50 years before him, and told him he could rest easy, and that his generation would take it from there. All those sleepless nights, all the tears — magically disappeared. It suddenly became worth it.”
‘I was standing in line. An older gentleman said, ‘Why are you wearing that rainbow shirt? Are you some sort of fa***t?’
“This man then goes on to mumble homophobic slurs to me, the whole time I’m waiting in line. I ignore him, pay for my food, and start to walk away. I then notice his card gets declined.”
‘Want drugs?’ My bio dad, just released from prison, sat me on the toilet and injected meth into my arm.’: After surviving child abuse, living in 40 foster homes, man finds ‘home’ in his kids’ arms
“I was usually good at hiding my bruises, but one day I didn’t do a very good job. ‘How did this happen?!’ my teacher asked. I told her it was from carrying firewood. Minutes after I got home, there was a man in a tan suit at my door. CPS. The beginning of my journey across 40 foster homes. I feel so lucky to have beaten the odds. Not for me, but for my sons. I’d go through my childhood 1,000 times if it meant my sons didn’t have to.”
