My wife and I are raising our daughter in a two-mom family. But here’s the thing… This doesn’t mean our family is all that different from yours. Here’s just a few ways our family is a lot like yours.
1. We teach our kid her ABCs, how to tie her shoes, and the importance of saying “please” and “thank you” and holding doors for others.
2. We try hard to get our daughter to eat something other than chicken nuggets or mac & cheese.
3. Our toddler has tantrums, too. Enough said.
4. We know all the words to songs from Frozen, Beauty And The Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King…
5. We find ourselves buying the girliest, frilliest, sparkliest, most twirly and glittery things for our daughter, even though we swore we never would.
6. We make sacrifices for our family. We work late. We wake up early. We move cross-country. We move close to grandparents.
7. Like in your relationship, having a child has changed intimacy. We try to keep the fire alive. We send spicy text messages to each other, we use emojis, we light candles, we put on Marvin Gaye. Most nights we both fall asleep though.
8. We need to make time for our spouse. We plan date nights. We struggle to find sitters. We need time away from the little one.
9. We struggle. Some days it feels we are running on empty.
10. We need a village. This raising a child{ren} is hard stuff. Like you, we rely on friends and family to help out.
As a two-mom family, sometimes we get funny looks, awkward questions, or even worse, silence. But the truth is, my family is a lot like yours. We struggle with many of the same issues non-LGBT families do, and we need the same kind of community and support for our children to thrive.