The “L” Part

Yall, my child is just so smart beyond me.

A few weeks ago, I ordered some new stickers. They are of a little character I created named Estrellita StarR. Well, for these stickers Estrellita is dressed in support of her LGBTQ+ friends.

As I was opening the package, Aria was curious to see what I had received. When I pulled out the rainbow stickers, Aria immediately said, “Pride!” I said, “Do you know what that means?” She said, “It means gay.” I told her, “Well, there’s a little more to it.” I went on to explain what I could about what LGBTQ stood for and how some people identify with different parts of it. She nodded as she listened to the information she was receiving. Then she asked me, “Can I take some of these to two of my friends?” I was a little surprised at her request. I told her, “Yeah, you can take them. Do you think they would be okay with you giving them these?” Aria answered, “Yeah, SO and SO identify as lesbians.” Honestly, I was a little shocked to hear that fourth graders are already speaking about stuff like that. But then I started thinking about how I started having crushes right about that age also. So I guess if a kid knows, they just know, right?

Anyways, I was curious, “So how do you feel about your friends being lesbian?” She answered, “I don’t mind. But there was one kid who was making fun of one of the girls.” Then she went on to explain the situation to me. So I asked her, “How did your friend react?” Aria replied, “She looked like she was embarrassed.” I asked, “Did you do anything?” She said, “I told my friend we should walk away from that kid. And we did.” Had I been in Aria’s shoes I probably would’ve gotten in trouble for popping off something really mean or inappropriate to that kid. But not Miss Aria. My kid is such a rock star. She definitely inherited Vince’s levelheadedness.

So we spoke a little more about LGBTQ and her thoughts about it. At the end, I told her, “I’m glad we can talk about this kind of stuff.” And I meant it. Growing up, talking about anything sexuality of any kind was a big, “Oh my goodness! Where did you hear about that? Who are you hanging out with? They’re a bad influence!”

Thankfully I’ve learned that it’s okay to answer my kiddo’s questions. Because if she’s asking it’s obviously come up in her life somehow and it’s something she wants to know. I appreciate that she has the confidence to ask me things. If I’m not willing to answer her questions, she will either go about life completely lost (like me), or she might learn wrong information from somewhere else. I just want to prepare her for life as much as possible.

So, back to Estrellita StarR. I was really excited for this sticker. I made it with all the love! I feel like I don’t want to sell this one. I’ve thought that maybe I’ll just give it away. I’ve also thought that maybe I can find a LGBTQ+ organization to donate the profits to. I haven’t gotten that far yet. Once I get through this semester I’d like to set up a better shop for my little things. But that’s not the top of my to-do list right now.

As always, stickers are available for free to my blog readers. Just DM me your mailing address.

Now excuse me while I get back to my homework! Have a great weekend!