Teaching My Kid About The Supreme Court's Decision To Legalize Gay Marriage

It's been a particularly challenging couple of weeks, dealing with both intolerant and unfair folks, but woke up to the victorious news that gay marriage has been legalized in all 50 states. Finally. Something to be happy about.

I wanted to share this exciting news and educate my 3-year-old on what this means for her and generations of today. I started with a rainbow, which she was more than excited to draw. (See below :>)

I explained marriage to her as two people wanting to be together because they love each other so much and because they want to be a team. (We talk about teams a lot and family, in particular, acting together as a team.) That marriage is usually between a boy and a girl but sometimes a girl wants to marry a girl, and a boy wants to marry a boy. Then, she wanted to read her Big Hero 6 book. So, we took a break from the topic.

Later in the day, I brought up the subject again, telling her today is a day to celebrate because anyone can marry whoever they want, whoever they love, boy or girl. A boy can marry a girl, a boy can marry a boy, and a girl can marry a girl.

She responded: 'I want to marry a boy! I want to marry Harper because I love Harper. Then we can live together and be a team.'

This is just the beginning. My daughter now knows she can marry whoever she wants, no matter what gender. And the fact that she now has a choice will continue to be celebrated.

It's never too early to start teaching our kids, our future, about acceptance, tolerance, equality, and any other topic that will instill values in them to make this world a better place. I'm a firm believer of that. xo #piecesofm

Thomas & Friends Plush Blanket!

I have this habit of shopping for my kid during my lunch break. Stuck seated in an office all day, it's nice to take a walk outside, breath fresh air, and then browse stuff we may or may not need :>

Today, out of the blue (pun intended— Nui Nui's favorite color is blue and it's all because Thomas is :>), I decided to get her a Thomas throw because character bedding was on sale at Target. The sale was a pathetic one— $23.74 marked down from $24.99— one that I normally wouldn't fall for but Mondays are the roughest, when I'm missing my kid the most.

When I picked Nui Nui up from school, I told her I had a surprise for her. So funny. She loves surprises and doesn't get them often. Midway asking/talking to her about her day at school, she went back to the surprise. 'Mama, where's the surprise?' I told her it was in the front seat.

Today ended up being a good day for a surprise too. Nui Nui did well in school today. Her daily note said that she was very polite and well-mannered: 'Can I have pizza please?'. Score! Love school days like that.

Anyway, I filmed her opening her surprise, so hopefully that'll be up sometime soon. Until then, I'm loving seeing how happy she is in these pics :> Now, her Thomas bedding set is complete!

One unsolicited piece of advice, especially after reading the recent article: 'An Elementary Class Studied 600 Lego Sets, What They Found Has Gotten LEGO’s Attention', is that we, too, like corporations, as parents, adults, and teachers, shouldn't feed into nor pass on engrained (useless) stereotypes that were and are still fed to us daily. Thankfully, this particular bedding wasn't marketed for boys, despite all its blue (though I would have bought it either way). It's just Thomas and Friends— James and Harold, to be exact— on a blanket, for anyone who cares for (or loves) the characters, including my daughter. No qualms, just excitement and smiles for all.

When was the last time you got a surprise? Share in the Comments below, we'd love to hear! :> xoxo