"I Have Two Dads"

    If you came over to my house, you’d see that I have a pretty typical life. I live with my parents; my grandmother; our dog, Milo; and our cat, Suzie. 

    We love to cook together—homemade pizza is our specialty. We listen to a lot of music. During the pandemic, our favorite thing has been to get in the car and drive to a new place. One time, we drove to the Chesapeake Bay and just explored.

    But there’s one thing that makes my family a little different: I have two fathers. I call them Dad and Papa. To me, having two dads is totally normal. But I know some people might have questions. Trust me, I’ve heard them all! 

    My life is pretty typical. I live with my parents, my grandmother, our dog, and our cat. 

    We love to cook together. Homemade pizza is our specialty. We listen to a lot of music. During the pandemic, our favorite thing has been to get in the car and drive to a new place. One time, we drove to the Chesapeake Bay and explored.

    But there’s one thing that makes my family a little different. I have two fathers. I call them Dad and Papa. To me, having two dads is totally normal. But I know some people might have questions. Trust me, I’ve heard them all!

    If you were to visit my house, you’d see that I have a pretty typical life. I live with my parents, my grandmother, our dog, and our cat. 

    We enjoy cooking together—particularly our specialty, homemade pizza. We listen to a lot of music. During the pandemic, our favorite family activity has been to get in the car and drive to a new place. One time, we drove to the Chesapeake Bay and just explored.

    But there’s one thing that makes my family somewhat unusual: I have two fathers. I call them Dad and Papa. Although having two dads feels perfectly ordinary to me, I realize some people might have questions. Believe me, I’ve heard them all!

    My dads adopted me from Guatemala—a country in Central America—when I was a baby. I’ve always known I was adopted. My parents made sure to tell me the story of where I came from at an early age. 

    I don’t know much about my biological mother and father. Someday, I might decide I want to learn about them. My dads have always told me that when I’m ready, they’ll help me. It’s exciting to know that I have the opportunity to learn more about where I came from.

    But no matter what I learn, nothing will change the fact that my dads are the only parents I need. People ask me if I resent not having a mom in my life. I tell them no. The gender of my parents doesn’t matter. All that matters is that they love and support me, which my dads do.

    My dads adopted me from Guatemala (a country in Central America) when I was a baby. I’ve always known I was adopted. My parents told me the story of where I came from at an early age.

    I don’t know much about my biological mother and father. Someday, I might decide I want to learn about them. My dads say that when I’m ready, they’ll help me. It’s good to know that.

    Still, my dads are the only parents I need. People ask me if I resent not having a mom in my life. I tell them no. The gender of my parents doesn’t matter. All that matters is that they love and support me, which my dads do.

    My dads adopted me from Guatemala—a country in Central America—when I was a baby. I’ve always known I was adopted. My parents made sure to tell me the story of where I came from at an early age.

    I don’t know much about my biological mother and father, but someday I might decide I want to learn about them. My dads have always told me that they’ll help me when I'm ready, and it’s exciting to imagine learning more about where I came from.

    But no matter what I discover, nothing will change the fact that my dads are the only parents I need. People sometimes ask me if I resent not having a mom in my life, and I tell them no. The gender of my parents isn’t important. All that matters is that they love and support me, which my dads do.

    I didn’t always know that my family wasn’t typical. When I started school, we went to an open house for my kindergarten. All the other kids had a mom and a dad.

    My classmates asked me, “Do you have a mom?” When I said no, they asked me how I got here. One kid wondered, “Are you an alien?” That’s probably the weirdest question I have ever gotten.

    That day, my dads explained to me that all families are different. Some families have a mom and a dad. Some have same-sex parents. Some have just one parent. Some kids are raised by grandparents or other family members. There’s no one way to make a family.

    Today, I still get questions. But overall, I think people have gotten used to seeing same-sex families. 

    About 300,000 kids in the U.S. have families that look like mine. There are same-sex parents on TV shows like Modern Family, 13 Reasons Why, and even My Little Pony. 

    I think that someday, my family won’t be seen as unconventional at all.

    I didn’t always know that my family wasn’t typical. When I started school, we went to an open house for my kindergarten. All the other kids had a mom and a dad.

    My classmates asked me, “Do you have a mom?” When I said no, they asked me how I got here. One kid wondered, “Are you an alien?” That’s probably the weirdest question I've ever gotten.

    That day, my dads told me that all families are different. Some families have a mom and a dad. Some have same-sex parents. Some have just one parent. Some kids are raised by grandparents or other family members. There’s no one way to make a family.

    Today, I still get questions. But I think people have gotten used to seeing same-sex families.

    About 300,000 kids in the U.S. have families that look like mine. There are same-sex parents on TV shows like Modern Family, 13 Reasons Why, and even My Little Pony.

    I think that someday, my family won’t be seen as unconventional at all.

    I didn’t always realize that my family wasn’t typical. When I started school, we went to an open house for my kindergarten. All the other kids had a mom and a dad.

    My classmates asked me, “Do you have a mom?” When I said no, they asked me how I got here. One kid wondered, “Are you an alien?” That’s probably the weirdest question I have ever gotten.

    That day, my dads explained to me that all families are different. Some families have a mom and a dad, some have same-sex parents, and some have just one parent. Some kids are raised by grandparents or other family members. There’s no one way to make a family.

    I still get questions today, but I think people have gotten much more accustomed to seeing same-sex families.

    About 300,000 kids in the U.S. have families that look like mine. There are same-sex parents on TV shows like Modern Family, 13 Reasons Why, and even My Little Pony.

    I believe that someday, my family won’t be seen as unconventional at all.

    Having gay parents has opened my eyes to issues that other kids might not think about. The fight for LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning) rights is important to me.

    When my dads adopted me, same-sex marriage wasn’t legal everywhere in the United States. Then, in 2009, it became legal in Washington, D.C., near where we live. 

    My dads got married, and then we went to Hawaii and had a big party. I was 4 years old. It just seemed like a fun vacation to me. Now I understand how important it was for our family.

    Having gay parents has opened my eyes to issues that other kids might not think about. The fight for LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning) rights is important to me.

    When my dads adopted me, same-sex marriage wasn’t legal everywhere in the United States. Then, in 2009, it became legal in Washington, D.C., near where we live.

    My dads got married. Then we went to Hawaii and had a big party. I was 4. It just seemed like a fun trip to me. Now I understand how important it was for our family.

    Having gay parents has opened my eyes to issues that other kids might not think about. The fight for LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning) rights is important to me.

    When my dads adopted me, same-sex marriage wasn’t legal everywhere in the United States. Then, in 2009, it became legal in Washington, D.C., near where we live.

    My dads got married, and then we went to Hawaii and had a big party. I was 4 years old, and it just seemed like a fun vacation to me. Now I understand how important it was for our family.

    In 2015, same-sex marriage became legal in every state. When we heard the news, we were so happy. It was good to know that my dads’ right to be married wouldn’t be taken away from them. Today, it seems crazy to me that it was ever against the law to marry the person you love. 

    My dads remind me sometimes that we forget how different we might seem to some people. To us, our life is just our life. 

    My hope for the future is that all types of families are accepted. I want people to know that a family is just a family—no matter what it looks like. 

    In 2015, same-sex marriage became legal in every state. The news made us happy. It was good to know that my dads’ right to be married wouldn’t be taken away from them. Today, it seems crazy to me that it was ever against the law to marry the person you love.

    Sometimes we forget how different our family might seem to some people. To us, our life is just our life.

    My hope for the future is that all types of families are accepted. I want people to know that a family is just a family, no matter what it looks like. 

    In 2015, when same-sex marriage became legal in every state, we were incredibly happy. It was wonderful to know that my dads’ right to be married wouldn’t be taken away from them. Today, it seems unbelievable to me that it was ever illegal to marry the person you love.

    My dads occasionally remind me that we forget how different we might seem to some people. To us, our life is just our life.

    My hope for the future is that all types of families will be accepted. I want people to know that a family is just a family—no matter what it looks like.