There's hope for us all

Yesterday, Brian and I hosted a reunion of our birthing class at our house. It was great - we got to see all six couples again AND meet their new babies. The oldest baby is four months and the youngest is about two months. Each baby was SO different and each couple had a totally different birth experience.

The couples are not homogeneous in any sense of the word - some are rich, some are of little means. Some are friendly, others standoffish. Some are open and others intensely private. One of the couples (well, the wife, anyway) seems decidedly unhappy, in fact, and often spouts off about the negative nature of things (the world, politics, particular groups of people, etc.)

Anyhoo - we ended our reunion by placing all of the babies side by side on our couch and taking lots of pictures. It was ADORABLE. There were two boys who kept leaning on each other (since their neck control isn't totally developed yet). It was the cutest thing - and we were all gawking at how beautiful it was to see two babies cuddling.

Then, the unhappy mother exclaimed (to her eight week old son), "Get off of him, Zack - don't be gay!!"

There was a very uncomfortable, pregnant pause as the whole room went silent. In that moment, it really could have gone either way....people could have laughed her comment off or even "amen-ed" it. But no one said a word.

The father of the OTHER cuddling boy baby scooped his son up and went into the kitchen (about five feet away), where Brian was standing. As he stood there, he held his baby up to eye level and said, "It's okay to be gay, Emerson. It's okay to be gay." This from a dad who happens to be a conservative Christian.

It was a hopeful moment.