Liz has two mommies

Does anyone remember the book Heather Has Two Mommies? It's a children's book about a girl with two moms that was very controversial back in the early '90s, and was banned from a number of schools.

My stepmom Lynn told me a heartwarming story about my halfsister Amanda, when she was about 6. We were at a department store, and a stranger made some refence to Lynn being Amanda's mom. I guess Amanda corrected the stranger, explaining Lynn was her "other mom." This stranger reacted oddly, or said something about that being strange, and Amanda said, "I think I'm really lucky to have two moms." Ironically, I don't remember this encounter--Lynn says I was there--and I would have been 11 at the time. I thought it was such a nice example of how kids see the world with such optimistic eyes, and how adaptable they are.

On a different note, Ingrid got into a fight with one of her high school friends once. We were discussing wanting to have a child, and the friend said something along the lines of "Well, I hope you are planning to have a male influence in your child's life." Ingrid said we do plan to have strong male role models in the child's life, but that we didn't have a particular brother, uncle, father type of figure, just one golden male, who would fulfill that role. This friend was concerned about that, and Ingrid got very upset, and started citing all these examples of fucked up people who had married parents, whose fathers were a part of their lives. We left the party in tears.

That said, we do get concerned about the male role models in our future child's life. (Fingers crossed.) Men in our lives, get ready: Nick, I expect you to show our kid how to start a blog. Christian, how to focus a camera lens. Fred, the inner workings of architecture, and the museums of NYC, and all of the old cities of Europe. Michael H, you can explain gender law and how to cook a vegetable lasagna?Maybe Cerulean, who is now only 4, can be something of a big brother figure? There are great men all around us. I hope to share all of your worlds.

P.S. If you live in NYC, go to the Brooklyn Museum of Art to see Annie Liebovitz's photographic exhibit, but stay to see Ronald Mueck's freaky-cool oversize realistic sculptures.