Growing Up
The other night I put on the show House Hunters International as a "filler" while the kids were getting their pajamas on and brushing teeth. I figured it would be something innocuous, and no one would get too interested so it wouldn't be a big deal to turn it off when the boys came down. (The REAL star of TV that night was American Ninja Warrior, which we all love!)
On the show there were two men from Atlanta who were looking to buy a $350K "vacation home" in Iceland. So they're going through a few houses, deciding what they like and what they don't. The usual House Hunters stuff.
From upstairs Colin shouts (clearly with a toothbrush in his mouth), "Mommy, are those guys gay?"
I responded that yes, they were, and Colin finished brushing his teeth. No big deal, which is really how I expected the conversation to go.
Hari turned to me with his already large eyes bugging out. He then stage-whispered... "What did he say??? Did he really just ask if they were gay? How does he know about that? He's only eight! What has he heard?"
I wasn't fazed, and said I didn't know exactly where/how Colin figured things out, but that I didn't think it was a big deal. Hari clearly didn't agree. So... when Colin came down Hari had a little chat, asking Colin what he thought being "gay" meant. Colin's answer was that it was when a man likes a man, or a woman likes a woman.
The conversation then turned to marriage: Colin still insists he will never, ever get married. Hari responded that Colin is the one person that he can guarantee will definitely 100% get married someday, which Colin refuted. And so the night went on, business as usual.
What I loved is how matter of fact Colin was about the whole thing. It wasn't a huge deal, it is just the way things are for those two men. And isn't that really the way it should be? I was pretty proud of him for that. I guess maybe we're getting some of this parenting thing right.
On the show there were two men from Atlanta who were looking to buy a $350K "vacation home" in Iceland. So they're going through a few houses, deciding what they like and what they don't. The usual House Hunters stuff.
From upstairs Colin shouts (clearly with a toothbrush in his mouth), "Mommy, are those guys gay?"
I responded that yes, they were, and Colin finished brushing his teeth. No big deal, which is really how I expected the conversation to go.
Hari turned to me with his already large eyes bugging out. He then stage-whispered... "What did he say??? Did he really just ask if they were gay? How does he know about that? He's only eight! What has he heard?"
I wasn't fazed, and said I didn't know exactly where/how Colin figured things out, but that I didn't think it was a big deal. Hari clearly didn't agree. So... when Colin came down Hari had a little chat, asking Colin what he thought being "gay" meant. Colin's answer was that it was when a man likes a man, or a woman likes a woman.
The conversation then turned to marriage: Colin still insists he will never, ever get married. Hari responded that Colin is the one person that he can guarantee will definitely 100% get married someday, which Colin refuted. And so the night went on, business as usual.
What I loved is how matter of fact Colin was about the whole thing. It wasn't a huge deal, it is just the way things are for those two men. And isn't that really the way it should be? I was pretty proud of him for that. I guess maybe we're getting some of this parenting thing right.
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