lgbtq
Non-nuclear is the new normal; millions of children belong to happy families with lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender parents.
Six minutes, a new life.
His hand was gently placed on the page of his book that he was reading. From what I could see his book seemed tattered, old, perhaps a classic; maybe his interest in literature was timeless. He grinned ever so slightly, amused by a line that he had probably read a thousand times over. His face wasn't made up of obviously beautiful features, but he was beautiful. A nose ring sat tight around his left nostril and a beanie balanced on his head like a beret. His eyes behind a pair of rounded glasses that sat on his perfectly balanced ears; one with a loop earring. 'Am I in love, again?' I thought. I looked down at what I was wearing; nothing exciting to look at. I became uncomfotable and shuffled my bum further away from him, sitting half on the seat and half balancing on nothing but sheer hope of not falling. I turned the volume of my music up and closed my eyes to try and focus.
By Leigh Halifax5 years ago in Families
Financial Independence
My room is dark despite it being 3:00pm on a Tuesday in the middle of July. I closed my blinds two weeks ago to stave off the guilt of staying indoors for days on end, remembering what it was like to be depressed. But I’m not depressed, it’s just summer.
By Grace Flowers5 years ago in Families
A Father's Acceptance
Nakia lays in bed listening to the alarm ring. She cancels the alarm and begins the process of becoming the Nakia she has seen in the mirror since she was six. This was a routine that she had grown accustomed to over the last five years. A routine she had so desperately clung to because it gave her a sense of control and order, something she was never allowed in her youth. After two hours of perfecting her makeup, sliding on her black dress, and strapping on her heels, she was ready.
By Travis Hunnicutt5 years ago in Families
Learning to Be Better
From a very young age I watched my father, as well as my grandfathers and uncles, do things that typically fall upon the man's shoulders. My dad was a jack of all trades. He loved taking things apart and putting them back together. He could also work with everything from a car's engine to a computers modem and everything in between. 2 of my 3 grandfather's had garages filled with tools and machines to take on just about any task you could think of that could pop up around the house. I grew up in a family where calling someone to fix a problem for you was unheard of because either my dad could fix it, or someone else we were related to could.
By Samuel Steele5 years ago in Families
The Black Love Moment
Stephanie I am sitting on the couch watching Bridgerton sipping from a glass of celery juice when the phone rings. I’m lost in the drama and in shock of the light dusting of snow that now lays on the lawn. For this time of year in Michigan, a light dusting is considered an early spring. Daphne just found out that the prince is interested in her. However, I know her heart is with the Duke. Quiet as kept, my heart is with the Duke too. The Duke is F-I-N-E. Whew child. Any who, no matter how fine he is, there is absolutely no way I could have lived during the early 1800’s. I cannot imagine the pressure women had to marry, have children, and be completely dependent on a man for resources.
By Crystal Higginbotham5 years ago in Families
Scratchers
With the single swipe of a patinaed 1987 penny, came my downfall. I scratched with all the enthusiasm that a middle-aged office worker could afford, the rusty coin scraping the matte aluminum foil away from the neon pink and green card that boasted “WIN UP TO $1,000,000!”
By Rachel Stafford5 years ago in Families
The Eyes of Love
As the dust rose from the tires of the departing hearse from Whitman’s funeral home as it headed down the drive, I stumbled away from the big house with its wrap-around porch and the swing where my grandmother had spent hours telling me about her life growing up on the farm as we shelled peas and strung beans. With eyes blinded by tears and the bright sunlight, I picked my way across the yard to the old barn. The animals had long been moved to the big new barn and the place where Grandma had taught me to milk a cow while the barn cat wove in and around our legs was empty now, except for the mice who nested in the hay bales that had remained, serving as a reminder of the activity that had once imbued the place with life.
By Debra Lejeune5 years ago in Families
From hiding to affirmation
Picture this, you are growing up in south west Sydney were being different is not only frowned upon but also were it is an excuse to become a victim to crime and various assaults. Now picture this young teenager is walking through a park in Liverpool listening to his music, Eminem playing through his headphones. On his face are tears running down past his black eye which was given to him a few hours prior by his father, this was done as a way to "make a man out of him". However this teenager has an issue he has known since he was 5 years old that he should not have been born a male. This is an issue issue that plays with his mind every second of the day. Constant thoughts in his mind are "why am I a female, I was born male surely this can’t be right”, “why am I not attracted to males if I am really a female I must like men right”, “how do I tell mum and dad".
By Rebecca Bornello5 years ago in Families
The Other Parent
I’ve never wanted to be pregnant. The thought of essentially carrying an alien inside of me for nine months is the type of thought that could put me right into a padded cell. I truly, truly mean that. I’m not sure if it’s a combination of not feeling feminine enough and that I can’t stand the idea of people touching my stomach or that I’m too selfish to devote my body to something for that long of a time, but something about it weirds me out. I digress. I’m glad we got that out of the way.
By Jess Ader-Ferretti5 years ago in Families
