We have now hit the six-month mark for my sons’ transition (and I attended my first Pride Fest). It is unbelievable to me the things that have changed about him. Honestly, I no longer see him as a female at all. His voice is significantly lower and he has hair on places that five years ago I would have been getting on to him to shave.
If you look at him, by all accounts he looks like a male. I even joke with him that he is acting like one too when he forgets to check in with me.
He is still unable to give himself the testosterone shots and has to go in each week and pay the nurse to do it for him. He has a fear of needles that he did not realize prior to starting this journey. I’m not sure what this comes from, but he has severe anxiety over it. Which we are working through.
Last weekend, my sister in law and I went to spend the day with him and attend the Pride Fest in his town. I’m not sure what I was expecting. This was my first event of this nature. We wanted to show our support so we proudly dressed up and I wore my Free Mom Hugs shirt.
I had no idea that this experience would be as emotional for me as it was. First, there were several kids that came up to get their hug and thanked me. Thanked me, I didn’t know what to think when it first happened. I love my kid and I love him unconditionally. He has always been allowed to be who he is, so I didn’t grasp the fact that there are so many people out there who don’t have that support from those they love. What parent would disregard their child because they didn’t become exactly who they thought they should?
The next thing I wasn’t expecting was the support from as many churches that were there. I had church members and school teachers thanking me for supporting my child. They were the ones that deserved all the thanks, for coming out and showing their support. I was overwhelmed by the way the viewed the LGBT community. It was a beautiful thing to see churches that were actually promoting love and not judging.
The last thing I noticed that also surprised me and I’m not sure why it even surprised me, but maybe I didn’t think about it or expect it. The protestors. There were protestors that were holding their signs and saying things to people as they walked by them. While I don’t understand this (I know everyone is entitled to their opinion, blah) I guess I don’t understand what people get out of protesting others. These kids don’ t go to their church and protest them, so it makes no sense to me why they would come to protest something that they have no understanding of and don’t open their minds up enough to understand.
In the end, these beautiful kids were walking by with smiles and love on their face, while these protestors frowned and spewed hate upon them. It’s hard to imagine that those who hate and judge will go to a better place, but I know that is what they believe. For me, no matter where I go I’m always going to choose love over hate every single time. What do you choose?
If you would like to donate or learn more about how you can support the Ozark Pride Fest, visit here.
If you would like to read about our journey from the beginning, consider the article: A Parent’s Story, Raising A LGBT Child
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