Mombian Is 15! Celebrating a Decade and a Half of Blogging

Mombian is 15 years old! Many, many thanks to all of you who have read, commented, and shared your stories with me over the years.

My son, who was two when he inspired me to launch Mombian in June 2005, is now 17 and a rising senior in high school. When I started the blog, too, LGBTQ rights were at a far less advanced stage. Over the years, I’ve written about the spread of marriage equality, the growth of adoption rights for LGBTQ parents; the expanding legal recognition of nonbiological parents; increasing media representation of LGBTQ families, including in children’s books and television; the individual joys and challenges of LGBTQ families; tips for starting families and raising kids; and much more. I’ve learned much from the many LGBTQ parents, prospective parents, and their children with whom I’ve spoken, about parenting, being an LGBTQ advocate, and being an ally to other marginalized groups.

I’ve also watched the threats to this progress since President Trump took office—and the firm response from the LGBTQ community and our allies as we’ve fought to retain and even gain ground. Sometimes we’ve succeeded, as in two court victories last week; other battles, like stopping anti-LGBTQ discrimination by taxpayer-funded adoption and foster care agencies, remain to be won.

One thing I know, though, from interacting with so many LGBTQ families over the years, is that we are resilient. We’ve had to be, to raise children in the face of significant legal, financial, and social obstacles, and to do so as well, overall, as any other parents. It’s been my honor to offer information and insights over the years to (I hope) help us along the way. Thank you for joining me—I will be forever grateful.

(Astute readers will note that my official blogiversary was actually yesterday, but I postponed it so as not to take away anything from the awesome dads and other parents celebrating Father’s Day then.)