The word "parent" is not just a noun. It's also a verb.
It took mere days after learning that my wife and I were expecting our first child before I began to worry how society would see that child, and how that child would eventually come to see herself. Yes, through some weird extrasensory perception that I still can’t explain, I knew we were destined to have a girl. And I knew society is not kind to girls, much less to brown-skinned girls.
Next Sunday is Fathers’ Day. Why get Dad another tie that he probably will not use? Instead, get him a book that he can share with his child! All week we will be highlighting books that feature strong father figures, in heartwarming stories for readers of all ages. And, we have a special surprise!
“I am your mother, and I have the scars to prove it,” I thought. “I gave birth to you myself.” The more I thought about the grueling adoption process, the three failed adoptions we had had previously, and one of the roughest, first 18 months of life on record, I felt fairly secure I could call myself a mother. Moms, after all, endure it all. And, live on to fight another day. Here we all were. Living, happily, still fighting.