For A

It's Saturday, and I'm sitting here at my home computer posting. LOL - this is for you, A!

We had a great day today. We took a Baby Care class from 9-4:30 (with a one hour lunch break). During this class we got CPR and First Aid Certified for Infants and Children through the Red Cross. God willing, we will never have to use the training. That was the morning. In the afternoon, we went over all manner of taking care of baby. We talked about bathing, Apgar scores and what they test, what the hospital experience is like (the who, what, when, where and why of the things they do), and self-care things...like what we are all going to do to take care of yourself.

It was a great class. It was also funny. The instructor couldn't figure out who Kelly was. She would talk in terms of Mom and Dad...and then stutter and say "partner". When we went around the room and all said how we were going to self-care for ourselves, she asked each couple "What about you, Mom? What about you, Dad?" When she came to Kelly and I, she said "And what about you? And how about you?". LOL - even though I was OBVIOUSLY the one pregnant, I still didn't get the "Mom". It's amusing to see how peopel deal with our family unit.

We try to make it obvious to people, but sometimes it's just too hard for them to get their minds around it. Sometimes, I think it is just pure discomfort or wierdness about the correct way to address us. "Mom" is such an exclusive term in our society - meant for the person who gives birth or the woman who adopts the child. Kelly will actually fall under this second literal category (as she will adopt the child), but my presence will always confuse people. If I gave birth, aren't I the Mom? LOL. It's kind of funny, really.

I remember once talking to some other women in my Women's Studies program during college about how being an out lesbian means you are a constant educator. You have to constantly be willing to come up against other people's perceptions and work to change them. The only other option is to be bitter (something both Kelly and I have gone through and come out of). I can never hope to change this world if I am not willing to help it change.

With that said, if that woman had in any way disrespected or disregarded Kelly, she would have had to deal with one seriously pissed of lesbian Momma. But she didn't. She just didn't know how to address us. We'll work through that with people.

The more visable we are, and the less willing we are to change our visability because of other's fears, the more likely we are to change the world around us. People eventually catch on.

All in all, it was a great day. I'm glad to be back home and I'm glad that this weekend is three days long. I'm looking forward to going to bed and to getting up tomorrow and finishing the nursery.

Congatulations M&A on your butterfly flutters! I'm SO happy for you both...