"Gay and Jewish"

My wife Melissa sent this out to a few of her friends and I just couldn't resist passing it along. Enjoy!




My wonderful son Gabriel. I just have to share…

Gabriel is in third grade and we are the “new family” at school. Please note that this elementary school is in a small village in rural Rhode Island – there are 230 kids total Kindergarten through 5th grade. Small is an understatement. We LOVE it! Both boys are thriving there. Gabriel’s class is 15 students and he’s doing very well.

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of attending the Parent/Teacher conferences for both boys. It’s such a pleasure to sit there and have the teachers gush over how well they are doing, adjusting, making friends, etc. I sit there and just beam with ultimate pride. When I got to Gabriel’s conference, the teacher Ms. P (yes she’s pregnant but that’s not what the “P” is for…) started off with all the usual – Gabriel is so wonderful to have in class, blah, blah, blah… I sat there with the biggest smile plastered on my face. Then I heard the dreaded words, “I need to talk to you about something…” What? What on Earth could be wrong? She continued that Gabriel had shared with her something he wrote in his journal and she didn’t know how to respond to it. She then retrieved the journal so that she “wouldn’t misquote him.” She then showed me that he had been writing about Hanukkah and then showed me: “We are having Hanukkah at my house. That’s where we celebrate the GAYS! They are free from slavery because they went north!” She just looked at me and didn’t know what to say. After a moment, I told her that I think he’s got a few concepts mixed together and is excited about the holiday. I told her that our family is extremely open and supportive of Gay Rights and Gay Marriage and I think the slavery thing has to do with the story of Passover… She smiled and said that she’s so happy that we are at the school and that we provide “diversity.” Please tell me you are laughing at this point! Us – diversity…? Well, for rural Rhode Island we are as diverse as they come. I’m truly thankful for that.

That night after the kids were in bed I told Alex about Gabriel’s journal entry and we both had a good giggle. The next night (4th night of Hanukkah) we asked Gabriel with Hanukkah is all about and he just shrugged and said, “I dunno.” So, Alex told him about the Scottish Jews – the Maccabees – and how magically the oil lasted for eight nights. (Okay, he offered way more detail – I promise Dad.)

So, two nights after Hanukkah, Gabriel and I went to the store together in the evening. We are loving New England, but one thing to note – sunset is at 4:00 p.m. during the winter months. It’s truly lovely here and everyone decorates their homes to the hilt. Lots of Christmas lights, decorations, etc. Gabriel and I were driving home after sundown and really enjoying all the amazing lights. With both of us looking out the windshield, Gabriel says to me, “Mommy, we don’t decorate for Christmas do we?” I told him that yes we do, but Hanukkah just ended and our budget is tight right now. Then he said, “No, it’s because we are gay and Jewish!” I said, “Gabriel, what does being gay mean?” He then says, “Gay means you love EVERYBODY.” Can you feel the amazing smile that crept up my face? I said, “Gabriel, remember your friend Katie who has two mommies, and your friends Liam and Natalie who have two daddies? Gay means you love who you love. YOU have a mommy and a daddy, but some kids have two mommies and two daddies...” Gabriel stopped me right there and said: “That’s right, Mommy, it means you love EVERYBODY.” To that I just sat back and said, “Yes, Gabriel. We are gay and Jewish.”

Happy Holidays!

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