Advice from a 4 year old…

I spent some quality time in the car today driving up to Portland, Maine. Kendra and Addison were on the way home from S.C., and their connecting flight was cancelled. Kendra managed to get them on a flight to Portland. It was quite the adventure for all three of us – we knew their bags were most likely not going to make it onto the flight (which included the car seat!). Luckily, my ever-prepared wife had already bought another car seat for our growing baby girl. After unpacking it, I tossed it in the back seat, made a pit stop for gas and a grande cappuccino from Starbucks, and sped through the rain and wind to get my girls.

Portland International Jetport was easy to find – right off the highway. It was so unlike Logan – very small, and the parking was right across the street from baggage claim. I was so happy to see Kendra and Addison – and especially happy to see Addie wiggle and smile when she saw me. I plopped her in a seat and gave her kisses while Kendra went in search of the luggage. Addison, being her usual adorable self, caught the attention of a little 4 year old girl sitting near us, who promptly came over to tell me how cute my baby was. She then asked if it was a boy or girl. I replied that she was a little girl. She then looked at me and asked, “Are you her mom, or her dad?” I almost fell over laughing as I caught the eye of a woman watching the exchange and shared a silent giggle. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the oncoming conversation. A few things were running through my head… would the parents overhear my explanation and freak out on me? Would I confuse the poor kid? Should I keep it simple? I decided to just go with the truth…

“I’m her mom. Well, one of them. She has two moms.”

I braced myself.

“Oh… well, maybe you should grow your hair long so people know she has two moms.”

That was SO not the response I was expecting. The woman I’d shared a glance with, who also happened to have short hair, yet was clearly a straight mom, couldn’t contain herself. I took a deep breath, smiled, and said that it was probably confusing because I had on a baseball cap and sweatshirt, but usually people could tell I was a girl just fine. The rest of the conversation was typical – she asked how old Addison was, and then told me all about her baby brother.

Eventually, her nanny came and sat down with said little brother. The little girl introduced us, and then explained to the bewildered nanny that Addison had two moms. The nanny, who was clearly not American, was confused. The little girl explained how we were married and had a baby. The nanny responded that two women can’t get married. The little girl immediately corrected her, saying that two women could get married. She then turned to me and asked, “You ARE married, right?” I laughed, and replied yes. She seemed relieved.

At this point, Kendra came back and I said my goodbyes to the little girl. I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face – things sure have changed since I was 4.