Growing in Stuff

I’ve been struggling to decide how to start writing this. It’s not a big deal, but something I’ve been noticing lately. And I’m not sure how to write about the fact that I’ve noticed it without making it sound like it’s a big deal.

After a lifetime of only giving it the briefest of thoughts at random times, all of the sudden in the last six months I feel like I’m constantly finding myself involved in or with connections to the LGBT community. The biggest examples:

1- I really think of Megan right now as my closest friend, which speak volumes about my lack of friendships considering I’ve really only been friendly with Megan since November or so. Her orientation is actually only a very small part of her identity and personality, not something she flaunts, but it’s still noteworthy to me that my closest friend is a lesbian.

2 - Olsen has been vigorously involved in volunteering in various roles in the LGBT community, currently working more than 20 hours per week with an organization whose goal is to end domestic violence in same sex relationships.

3 - Mercer remains either ambiguous or undecided, but I often hear him refer to himself as genderqueer. As Megan has attempted to painstakingly explain to me, at the very least I need to realize that he’s transgender.

So anyway, when Olsen started talking about how much she was looking forward to several films at the LGBT film festival later this month, and then Mercer chimed in with the films he was looking forward to at the festival, I realized that this seemed normal to me now. Last year if my children had been talking about going to the festival I would have probably been surprised to hear it.

And I’ll probably go to several films myself, either with the kids or with Megan. And I think I’m looking forward to that.

Harry (she really wants people to call her Harrison now, but it’s hard to break that habit), is still my ultra-feminine princess. I wonder if she’ll grow out of that.