My parents are both serious people. I love them but they really are serious. So sometimes it's funny when they end up in particular places. Just the image is making me smile as I relive it!!!
Rainbow Cards:
We don't live that far from Manhattan. In fact, my mom worked there for a while (forced to retire from Verizon in August of 2001 the building is near the trade centers). She loves the city and as a dance major I enjoyed the shows (though it's not the best place for someone scared of heights). Anyway, I think we were in the Village (Greenwich Village) and not long after seeing two clearly gay guys flirt (felt like an extra in Will and Grace) we came across the Rainbow Card store. Now my mom's family owned a Hallmark store named Marion's after her, when she was in high school (landlord wanted the space for something else) so she's a card store fan. As I looked at some cards (this was like 10 years ago), I notice a theme, scantly clad men. She, however, doesn't notice. So I go over to her and whisper "I think this is a gay card store" and sure enough she puts two and two together. That's when we left.
One reason she converted from Catholicism as a child to Episcopalianism as a married adult is the acceptance of others as they are. I was always raised with "personality means more then gender, race, and sexuality". That's what the bible teaches. She says, "Episcopalianism is Catholicism without the rules" of course she was fighting for gender equality starting with college graduation in 1970 (as an engineer) so her battle is of a different (but equally important) form. I love that we have a gay priest and a female priest (the one before him) married Josh and I and baptized Zach.
Tattoo:
We aren't a tattoo family and growing up in a judgemental household I'm not going to lie, I have judgements about those with tattoos. Now I want to make one thing clear, as I mentioned above, I was raised to accept people for their character but there is something about tattoos that makes me think negative thoughts. My in laws almost all have tattoos, my brother has a tattoo, my cousin has a tattoo. These also are all nice and intelligent people so I admit my judgement of "why ruin your body?" when it comes to tattoos is a personal one. As liberal as I am, this one I'll never have a positive opinion about
My Mom and Dad made a deal with him in High School. My brother in high school had friends with tattoos so wanting to he decided he wanted one too, a Celtic cross (okay I can accept that even as I'm still embarrassed a family member has a tattoo). Anyway, the agreement was great grades and making Eagle scout and he can get one. He did both.
So I was in college at the time and my mom and I took may post-school year vacations this time to Arizona. While there, my brother got the tattoo (which is bigger then he originally said he wanted). Of course my dad was paying so he went too. Now, you've see pictures of my dad and know he's a strait laced Engineer (who apparently didn't used to be since in college he and a few buddies made a deal to pee on each other's graves among other surprising stories as I talk to him now). He's as serious as I've seen an Irish dude who likes wine be. So imagine the IMAGE I had as my brother described my dad sitting in a tattoo parlor as he told me while we were on vacation. One important piece of information: my dad worked for BD. You might see them in doctors offices. He was an engineer with 24 US patents at retirement in February of 2005 (some others were pending). He was most focused on checking out the needles! Something he spent most of his career designing and improving! It's a funnier image if you know him. Equally funny, the look on my Mom's face as Hugh told her about it over the phone.
Observation: parents are funny, I wonder what Zach will find funny about us when he's a teenager and a college kid. I hope, like my parents, it's something that supports being positive about people who are different.
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