Love Makes a Family

I have a son that is amazing. He is loving, kind, and so strong and courageous. For the trials he must face and even in the face of hardship, he keeps going. We have told our story on Facebook and various social media and lots of people have fallen in love with him.

What most people don't know is that love makes our family. Biology is not the full story to our tale. Our son has two moms: atrue modern family. Our family looks like many others- two loving parents who will do anything for their son. We are exhausted most days; we fight for his rights every day. One of us stays home, one of us works full time. We love our DVR and cooking gluten free meals. We laugh, we cry, we take care of our family. There is nothing different about our family other than the fact that there happen to be two moms instead of one.

We are also a blended family. One of us is a stepparent. Our son's father has chosen not to be in his life for no other reason than he has significant special needs and he can't make him look "good." Digest that for a moment. He has zero to do with his son because he happens to have a disability. Forget that his son is amazing and wonderful and loves fiercely and tries so damn hard every day just to understand this world and does it with a smile- Nope, because he is not like you and me, he never wants to see him, know about him or try and talk to him. Some people look at our family in disgust and I simply ask them, you would rather this sweet boy be at the hands of an abuser and someone who cares nothing for him, than being raised in a loving home with two supportive parents and a chance at life he would have never had otherwise?

Love makes a family- plain and simple. Love makes our family and at the end of every day that is all that really matters. Whether it's one parent doing all the loving, grandparents doing all the loving, a mom/dad, a mom/mom, or a dad/dad, the fact remains that love is what provides that stability and nurture. Our son thrives because of the love and unrelenting support that we give him- even if it's at 3am and he has still decided he doesn't want to go to bed. Or when he wants to go out to eat at a restaurant instead of staying in, for the thousandth time that day. Or when we have to fight schools, therapies and insurance companies that then get to face two mama bears instead of one. Our home is full of love for our son and for each other and at the end of every day that should be the only thing that matters.

So the next time you want to judge a family because of the love they so clearly have for each other, maybe stop and think that maybe that is he only thing that should matter. And when you read stories on Facebook, you never know when you might be reading ours and cheering our son on and supporting us and the love we all share for each other and most especially him

#parenting