The [Adventure] of Being Thanked

[Adventure 86]

I'm not good at taking complements and feel awkward when people thank me for things that I enjoy doing or should be doing anyway. 

For example, I often post or comment on posts things having to do with my LGBTQIA+ children and people respond thanking me for loving and supporting my children. I find this odd and sad. All parents should love and support their children. That it's so uncommon for family members to do so that a thank you is in order breaks my heart.

No child - no matter how old this "child" is - should have to live in a world where the parent(s) that raised them choose(s) not to love and support them because of who they are or whom they love.

People ask me if I'm sad that my children aren't living up to my expectations and I ask them what these expectations are, as I've always only expected my children to be who they are. Yes, I'm disappointed that my children don't live up to my expectations of them cleaning up after themselves and doing their own dishes, but not in who they are. As a parent, it's my honor to be excited to witness my children developing into these adult people and to learn with them who they are. It is not my job to dictate to them who I think they should be, what I think they should be doing with their lives, or whom they should love.

You know what else is odd? We assign our children gender before they know what gender they are. We give our children names and expect them to love them as much as we do. Heck ... it took my husband and I forever to agree on our second child's name and then she chose one that was so much better than anything we came up with!