The Bilerico Project | Daily experiments in LGBTQ

I recently returned from my first trip to P-town (Provincetown, MA) with Teresa, our sons, and grandma (my mom) in tow. We spent Family Week there, and if you aren't familiar with that, it's one week each year where Familypride.org gathers together an enormous group of same-sex-headed families for fun, connection, education, and friendship. This year there were close to 700 people in attendance, most it seemed, from the east coast. Everywhere you look, you see gay and lesbian-headed families wandering the streets of Provincetown. It's a beautiful thing.

During the long trip home I found myself wondering, "Now why is it we have to travel over 1,000 miles for our family to experience a community of people where we are viewed and validated as a family without questions or explanations, where our sons can see us hold hands and express ourselves naturally, among the general public, without caution or concern, and where everywhere we look our sons can see that there really are A LOT of families like ours?" Honestly, I just find it more and more intolerable to be so invisible, when the truth is, families like ours really are everywhere.

So I got home and I took a good look at my address book and in a few minutes I was able to come up with forty-one families that I know who are headed by gay or lesbian parents right here in Indianapolis (or thereabouts). And that's just me. How many do you know that I don't know? And how many families do they know, that you and I don't know? You get the picture. We really are everywhere. My hope is to bring us all a little closer - close enough to find strength in our numbers; a power yet untapped here in Indianapolis - and for what? For starters, just for fun! Where it could lead... who knows?

So this is what I decided. I'm going to bring a little taste of P-town (sans the crowded streets, busy traffic, high cost for meals, and rocky beaches) to O'Mara and Associates with our first-ever Family Night.

We (my associate Erin Hamilton who works with children of GLBT parents and I) have lined up a casual (wear comfortable clothes!), evening of fun, food (pizza, sodas, and a sweet treat), and friends. And we are inviting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered headed families (as well as any heterosexual allies who may want to join us) to gather together on Friday, 6:30pm-8:30pm-ish with your kiddos.

We'll provide free pizza, sodas, dessert, a kid-friendly movie, as well as opportunities for good conversations, making new friends, and having fun.

To join us, all you have to do is send us a quick RSVP with a head count for your party (we need to be sure we have enough pizza!) at omaram@aol.com or 317.517.0065. AND YES, PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO OTHER FAMILIES or FRIENDS WHO MAY WANT TO JOIN US!!!


When | Where
Friday, August 24th, 2007
6:30pm-8:30pm-ish
6450 West 10th Street Suite 7
Indianapolis, IN 46214
317.517.0065
omaram@aol.com


I hope to see you and your family very soon!

Warmly,

Michele O'Mara, LCSW
www.micheleomara.com

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