LGBT Parents Have Slideshows Too

I was planning on writing an article on how I don’t actually like Blogging for LGBT Families Day because I don’t think LGBT families are really any different than any other families in the grand scheme of things (but I understand that we still need to keep explaining that to people and therefore fully support it) and maybe one about how I believe LGBT Parents are, on average, better than straight parents because, generally speaking, LGBT parents don’t have “oops” babies and thus don’t have their average dragged down by the likes of Britney Spears or Bristol Palin, but instead, I’m desperately loading nearly 4,000 photos onto my wife’s Macintosh so I can use iMovie to create a slideshow for my daughter’s kindergarten class.


You see, I’ve spent the last few days building such a slideshow using a Windows-based program, Pinnacle Studio 9, only to have it repeatedly crash when rendering the resultant movie.  Given that I need to have it done by Thursday morning and that there are 20+ sets of parents depending on me, this is a serious issue.  So instead of writing impassioned articles about gay and lesbian parents and their families, I’m worrying about this slideshow and running through alternate scenarios for getting it done in my head.

As the school year comes to an end all around the country, I know there are plenty of other parents out there finishing up slideshows for their kids’ classes, or working on photobooks for their kids’ teachers, or who knows what other end-of-year projects they may have, in a moment of weakness or of insanity, agreed to take on.  And surely, there are some who are encountering difficulties much as I am.  Whether it’s a hard drive crash or a computer that won’t recognize a camera or a CD Drive that won’t burn CDs, I know that I am not alone.

Furthermore, I know that some of my comrades in technology hell are lesbian and gay moms and dads.  Because, really, when it comes to being parents, there isn’t much difference at all.  They love their kids every bit as much as I do and want to do as much for them as they possibly can.  And if that means working all through the night to create an end of the year slideshow, well, by gum it, they’re going to do it.

Out there somewhere, there is a mom telling her wife that it’s going to be okay and that they’ll get it done somehow.  There’s a dad telling his partner that next year, they’re going to let someone else do the slideshow; someone who has time and knows what they’re doing — even as he rubs his partner’s back to comfort him.

So buck up, ladies and gentlemen — we’ll get through this together.  Because we’re the same, you and I, in the ways that matter — we love our kids.  And, maybe, when it comes to our kids, we get a little stupid about volunteering.

This post is part of Blogging for LGBT Families Day.

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