Despite the fact that I spent 2 years in college and almost two years after college working for political campaigns, I can’t say that I had been particularly politically active since then. Other than voting and sharing articles online and talking a lot about the state of the world, I hadn’t done much to actually show any sort of activism until we moved to Houston. Until we moved back to the United States.
Of course, America over the last year and a bit has changed a lot of people in that department. Since the 2016 election, I’ve participated in two marches and a walk. The walk wasn’t exactly activism, but it was leaving the house and showing up for a cause that’s important to our family.
In early 2017, I brought Maya to the Women’s March in Houston, and it was really therapeutic after the pain of the presidential election. There were so many people and so many clever, smart signs. We should have made a sign, but we’re getting better with experience!
In February this year, our whole family attended the Houston AIDS March downtown, and we were a little better prepared with red balloons to tie to the kids’ stroller. (Total side note, can I tell you how much we love that stroller? I get so many comments on how sneaky the second seat is down by my feet. I recommend it to everyone!)
In the past, I would have thought about going to a walk like the AIDS walk, but probably wouldn’t have made the final effort. Now, when we can possibly make our schedules work (let’s be honest, naps are crucial to the success of any day with two little kids), we make the effort. We get the balloons and we show up and we ensure our voices are heard. We also ensure our kids know that very small sacrifices of our time are the least we do as a family to support people we love.
Most people don’t know that one of our kids’ birth moms is HIV positive, and that was most likely a factor in her choosing to make an adoption plan. Neither of our kids is HIV positive, as passing the virus from mother to baby is very rare and can be avoided with C-sections and antiretrovirals, but it’s something that we feel strongly about supporting — both researching a cure and taking down the stigma of what has become a really manageable disease. We’re also passionate about supporting a woman who didn’t have to choose life for her child, but did anyway. She took the medicine she needed to and attended every appointment she was assigned, all so that her child would have the utmost chance at normal, healthy life. We are forever indebted, and so we showed up for her as well.
A few weeks ago, we showed up again. This time for the March for Our Lives to advocate for gun control.
The Houston Heights march started about one block from our house, so we whipped up a sign on an old piece of cardboard and walked up and down Heights Boulevard. Part of me realizes that it might be a little inappropriate for a 2-year-old to carry a sign that says “We call BS,” but the larger part of me hopes both my kids grow up to be as outspoken, thoughtful, passionate and articulate as Emma Gonzalez, from whom that quote originated. I never, ever, want my kids to experience even an active shooter drill let alone an active shooter. It is total BS.
And I hope our kids know that’s the least of the strong language we have for the causes we believe in. America has made us activists, and while that’s in large part because there’s a heck of a lot going wrong from the top down right now, it’s a silver lining I’m grateful for.
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