I'd like to send an open letter of thanks to the two men behind Dolce & Gabbana. I'd like to thank them for their comments about parenting and families.
I'd like to thank them because they've given me renewed confidence and motivation for my new book that is slated for a Father's Day release this year.
I've been conceiving and writing this book for what will be about a year, and worrying every step of the way if I should indeed publish it.
Will anyone care? Will it be relevant? Will it help people?
My new book is about my family and fatherhood. I was a divorced dad, gay dad, single dad, and then coupled dad at a time when it wasn't acceptable to be any of the above. I tried to conform to societal expectations only to find myself in a very unhappy place. While I did all that I could to make it work, I ultimately discovered who I was and what it would take to find happiness.
While I faced great prejudice along the way, I held my head up high and tried to be the best father that I could possibly be. My kids are now fully grown, starting their own journeys and I couldn't be prouder.
When I started writing the book, I worried that times have changed so much and gay parenting is now so accepted that the book would fall on deaf ears. I worried that no one would find it relevant anymore.
Thanks to the comments from Dolce & Gabbana, those worries are unfounded. People clearly still suffer from having to live up to what others view as required norms and people still suffer from trying to fit in.
Parents of every flavor are still dealing with the prejudice that comes from not following an unwritten textbook of how it's supposed to be done.
Sadly, prejudice still does not discriminate... even when you're a parent doing the best you possibly can.
These gentlemen have stated their case for traditional families, and they are in fact entitled to their point of view.
As am I... and I intend to proceed with the publishing of my book, hoping that there are people out there who will care, who will find it relevant, and who will find encouragement from reading it.
Parenting isn't about being the perfect mom or textbook dad, it's about caring for the physical and emotional well being of your children. No matter who, what, where, when, or how.
Love is love, and a parent's love is just about as deep as it gets.
By the way, my book is called Out and About Dad... it is indeed about my journey as a father with all its twists, turns, and a few twirls. It'll be out in June of this year, if not before. By what I've been hearing lately, it can't come out soon enough.
