Holidays

Freedom to Marry Week

It’s Freedom to Marry Week, and I thought I’d mark the occasion by talking about why marriage matters to me. Legal protections are part of the story, but only part. Civil unions and domestic partnerships can cover some (but not all) of the same rights and responsibilities. The greater reason for marriage, in my mind, […]

Words from Mrs. King

I posted this quote from Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King, Jr., last year at this time, but I think it bears repeating. Mrs. King was speaking at Lambda Legal’s 25th Anniversary Luncheon in 1998: As Martin once said, ‘We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny… an inescapable network

No Name-Calling Week

Today marks the start of No Name-Calling Week, “an annual week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling of all kinds and providing schools with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate bullying in their communities.” The event was created four years ago by GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight

A Martin Luther King Day Conversation

My son’s preschool class has been talking about the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. “Martin Luther King was a peacemaker,” my son informed me last week. “And a bad man shotted him.” All things considered, I’m glad he doesn’t say the word “shot” enough to know its proper grammatical usage. I agreed with his assessment

Post-Holiday Haiku

I’ll start the year on a light note, with a bit of post-season haiku: Spouse is back to work Son is still awash in toys Legos underfoot And reflecting on some of the year-end political news: Oregon waylaid New Hampshire civilized now Trip to Uruguay? Feel free to leave your own contributions in the comments.

Happy New Year!

All the best for the new year to all of you and your families! (‘Fess up now, those of you with infants and toddlers: How many of you dressed them as Baby New Year yesterday, if only so you could send the photo to relatives? I’ll admit to doing so when my son was still

Don We Now Our . . . Oh, You Know

A very merry Christmas to those of you celebrating it this week. Posting will be light for a few days, as we’ll be doing some celebrating of our own here at Mombian HQ. I also suspect many of you will be busy assembling train sets and dollhouses and searching for extra D-cell batteries and dealing

Last-Minute Gift Ideas

Yes, we’re parents, and we’re busy. That’s reason enough to be stuck with last-minute shopping. Here are a few ideas to get you through. I’ve stuck with gifts for grown-ups (though some may work for kids, too), since children have usually told us way in advance what they want, and any parent celebrating Christmas who

That’s Not a Grinch, It’s a Stressed-Out Lesbian

If you’re feeling a bit Grinch-like this holiday season, you’re not alone. More lesbian adults (80%) than straight women (64%) say they feel stressed around the holidays, according to a new survey (PDF link) by Harris Interactive and Witeck-Combs. Half (51%) of the lesbians surveyed said they tend to feel depressed around the holidays, versus

Easy “Gingerbread” Houses for Kids

If you’re looking for an easy kids’ project for a snow day or just for the holidays, try a “gingerbread” house make of graham crackers. It’s become one of my favorite seasonal activities, either for my son and I or for a playdate (where I put together the base houses in advance). Make up a

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