We're gonna party like it's your birthday

A letter to our son on his second birthday

Dear Oliver,

As your mother and father, we are responsible for shaping your basic personality. And we can only hope that we instill in you the basic building blocks that end up with you a strong, productive member of society. As we enter 2013 in a little over a month, I want to record this momentous decision made in MD on the eve of your birthday. The decision to let some human beings have the same rights as most other human beings. Marriage equality passed in our state. MD became one of the first states to say that gender did not matter when it came to loving individuals getting married and raising children.

I can only hope that as you grow up, my son, things evolve to the point that your generation can laugh at our generation and wonder why we even needed to vote on this. Just like our generation finds it politically incorrect to make jokes about women in the workplace or slavery, I can hope that your generation will find it not only politically incorrect but illegal to keep a woman from marrying another woman and raising children with her (or a man marrying another man and raising children with him).

I am going to go further and state that I hope by the time you are old enough to vote, we aren't even asking each other to be civil about it. In 2012, we are no civil to the people who make racist or anti-woman jokes. So, why should anti-gay emotion be accepted, in any way, shape or form? I hope they are still teaching the story about Rosa Parks. If she'd decided to respectfully accept the other side's opinion, she would still be sitting in the back of a bus.

I guess that's enough about that.

On top of everything, I hope you are a generous human being whose big heart embraces everybody you come across. I want you to be strong, accepting, loving, happy ... but I know life events have a way of bringing you down. Your biggest strength will be in the way you pick yourself up and help others around you pick themselves up.

I want you to remember, your friends are those who are always there to tell you when you are going down the wrong path, not the ones leading you down the wrong path.

I also want you to remember your mommy and daddy will always be there to drag you, kicking and screaming maybe, from the wrong path. But, we'll always, always love you.

No matter what. We'll be on your side. 

Happy birthday, my love,

Your parents

I love the wonder you show in this video: