Inspired by my partner's letter and a straight father's letter, LGBT Activist Rob Watson writes a note to his own sons.
Dear Jesse and Jason,
Hi, guys. You are about to become teenagers. Wow. It seems like just yesterday that God brought us into each other's lives through adoption and I had the absolute honor of becoming your dad.
I am so amazed by each of you. You are becoming fine young men, and when I have told you every single day for the last 10 years that I love you more than anything, I have meant it. I love our talks, our sharing, and how you tell me all about your days and how you feel about your friends. I love sharing books and movies and even hearing about the latest dilemmas and conquests within your Pokemon games. I even love that you tell me what you are afraid of, so that we can face those things together.
When you were babies, I imagined what each of you might be like when you grow up -- what your interests would be, what your hopes would entail, and what your lives would be like. You are now about halfway there, and I have to tell you, I could not be more thrilled. Getting to know each of you and the bond that we have in our souls is the most profound adventure I have ever known.
In the next few years you are going to change. You are going to grow up. You are going to discover within yourselves new tastes, new ideas, and new instincts. You know we have rules and principles to live by that make us good citizens and help us to never harm others and to be loving, caring beings. With those principles, I hope you guide the new and developing you that emerges. I also hope that you continue to feel free to share with me your feelings, thoughts, aspirations, and dreams.
Someday you will fall in love. As we have talked about, there are men who fall in love with women -- quite a lot of them, actually -- and then there are men who fall in love with other men, like Papa and I did. As you develop into the men you are going to be, your instincts will tell you which of these you are. Your instincts may also tell you that you are both. I don't know.
Here is the important point, however: I won't care. I only care that you are happy and the best you that you can be. I care that you strive for your dreams, that you are in touch with the spirit of the universe (I call Him God, but what you call him/her/it will be up to you), and that you treat all people well along the way. I won't care about the gender or ethnicity of your future spouse; all I will care about is that you honor and nurture each other and support each other's value as people, and that neither of you lose your identity behind the desires of the other.
Guys, I did not have you by accident. I did not have you because other people thought I should. I had you because I wanted you more than I have wanted anything, and I wanted to give you the greatest life possible. Earlier, I mentioned your dreams. These are mine.
There are things you will win, and there are things you will lose, but regardless, you will always have a champion: your dad. I am here for you, and I always will be.
You make me proud.
Love,
Daddy
No comments:
Post a Comment